Michigan football believes that playing sound, assignment football — no matter the situation — is likely to lead to favorable results. The Wolverines have largely done that through four games, and have found themselves 4-0 and ranked No. 14 in America.

"You’ve just got to come out and be consistent, week in and week out," redshirt junior defensive tackle Donovan Jeter said Monday. "We could play in the parking lot, and we have to execute. It’s all about execution."

However, it's harder to execute in a tough road environment, which is exactly what the Maize and Blue will face Saturday in Madison, a place Michigan hasn't won at since 2001, making for a difficult first road game of the season.

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Handling adversity is key, Jeter said, which is something the Wolverines did not do well during their last trip to Wisconsin in a 35-14 loss in 2019. Michigan trailed 21-0 at the end of the first quarter and 28-0 at the break, and never was able to get itself back into contention. Jeter played 43 snap counts in the contest.

"There’s like 90,000 people in the stadium, so five-yard runs are going to feel like 50-yard runs because they’re going to lose their minds," Jeter said. "Really just handling the adversity and not letting one bad play turn into two bad plays [are key]. Obviously, you’ve got to be lights out, you’ve got to be physical, you’ve got to communicate. It’s going to be harder to communicate, with 90,000 people going against you. But for the most part, handling adversity, executing, tackling.

"You don’t want to let a home team get the momentum by going on a long drive. It’s really hard trying to take the momentum back. Being physical, executing and handling adversity."

In that 2019 contest plus last season's 49-11 loss to the Badgers at home, Wisconsin combined to rush for 700 yards, embarrassing the Wolverines' front seven.

"Just gotta be physical with them, man," Jeter said when asked about the last two meetings. "They’ve got a great offensive line, great players, great coaches.

"We’ve just got to go in there with the mindset of being physical, and we’ve got to tackle — two- or three-yard runs could turn into six- or seven-yard runs, just by lack of tackling, so we’ve got to be big on that. The biggest thing is being physical and try to knock them off the ball."

Easier said than done, of course, with the Badgers' offense averaging 202 yards per game on the ground, though their 4.3 yards-per-carry averaged ranks 68th in the nation and they've lost two of their first three games on the season (against No. 4 Penn State and versus No. 9 Notre Dame).

"You’re going to get the bear, and the bear’s going to get you sometimes," Jeter said of facing the Badgers' offensive line. "It’s four quarters of a 9-on-7. It’s physical; it’s not going to be a pretty game. It’s really ugly, rugged and physical.

"And at the end of the day, if you’re going to be a championship team, you’re going to have to handle all types of games — you’ve got to have the games when you score 60 points and you’ve got to have the games when you hang onto the lead.

"Playing in Madison is hard. Last time when we were there, we got the brakes beat off of us. Playing over there, you’ve got to execute, handle adversity. You’re going to have good plays; you’re going to have bad plays. You can’t let one bad play turn into two, because the momentum just builds and builds and builds. It’s hard to get the momentum back."

The challenge of playing the Badgers at Camp Randall is stiff, and that's what makes Saturday's game even more important. Michigan has all of its goals in front of it — including the Big Ten title and College Football Playoff — and it has multiple tough road games as well.

"At any level of sports, to be a championship team, you have to win on the road — it’s inevitable," Jeter said. "We’ve got to take our show on the road."

The unbeaten Wolverines will roll into Wisconsin with confidence, but with a chip on their shoulder and an eagerness to prove themselves.

"The four games we’ve played don’t matter," Jeter said. "We’re 0-0 this week, and that’s the mentality we’ve got to keep throughout. For us, the confidence is a big thing — you don’t want to not have confidence — but at the same time, we know what our end goal is and we know how to get there. Each week, we’re 0-0."

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