AUSTIN — Texas ended four years of humiliation at the hands of TCU and put the rest of the Big 12 on notice: Yes, these Longhorns may indeed be back among the conference title contenders.

With two straight wins over ranked opponents — including Saturday’s emphatic 31-16 victory over the No. 17 Horned Frogs — it’s probably OK to say that now.

“In the past, we’d beat a ranked opponent and blow it away the next week. Seeing us do this tonight is just another step,” said Texas wide receiver Collin Johnson, whose diving 31-yard touchdown catch gave Texas the lead in the second half. “We could be a special team. I love these guys.”

Sam Ehlinger passed for two touchdowns and ran for a score, all in the third quarter, and his 38-yard touchdown pass to Lil’Jordan Humphrey late the fourth put the game away. Texas also forced four turnovers, including three by TCU quarterback Shawn Robinson in the third.

The Longhorns (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) ended a four-game losing streak to the Horned Frogs and got their first three-game win streak since 2014. Texas also has its first back-to-back wins over ranked opponents since winning three in a row in 2008, a run that vaulted Texas to No. 1 that season.

“There’s a grit to this team that’s a lot of fun to be around,” Texas coach Tom Herman said. “All (the win) does is validate the fact that we have taken another step. We have many steps left to take.”

TCU had outscored Texas 153-33 the previous four meetings and led 16-10 when Robinson began his rash of turnovers. A fumble recovery set up Johnson’s touchdown and an interception return by freshman safety Caden Sterns to the TCU 2 set up Ehlinger’s scoring run one play later to make it 24-16.

“When momentum and stuff is not going your way, you have to overcome,” Texas defensive back Brandon Jones said. “It’s really exciting to know you have dogs to your left and your right and up front. Overall, we really trust each other. It’s a brotherhood for us.

Ehlinger passed for 255 yards. Johnson finished with 124 yards on seven catches.

Texas mostly shut down a TCU running game that had gained at least 200 yards in each of its first three games. Texas allowed the Horned Frogs (2-2, 0-1 Big 12) 141 yards on the ground Saturday, but took it away for much of the first half. Robinson passed for 197 yards.

“We prepared our guys that this was going to be an ugly, physical game,” Herman said. “The defense kept us in it.”

No. 1 Alabama 45, Texas A&M 23

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tua Tagovailoa heaved his first pass to a diving DeVonta Smith in the end zone for a touchdown.

The 30-yarder wasn’t a replay of their winning connection in the national championship game, but it did set the stage for No. 1 Alabama’s 45-23 victory over No. 22 Texas A&M on Saturday. The game was close for a while before turning into yet another Crimson Tide romp.

“We knew coming into this game it would be a 60-minute dogfight, and that’s kind of what it was,” tailback Damien Harris. “They played us close in the first half but we knew if we just kept grinding away, that eventually we’d be able to pull away.”

OK, it was more of a 27-minute dogfight, but that’s more than other Tide opponents have mustered.

Tagovailoa passed for 387 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another score for the Tide in its first test against a ranked team. Kellen Mond and the Aggies (2-2, 0-1) couldn’t put up nearly the fight they had in a 28-26 loss to No. 3 Clemson.

Tagovailoa completed 22 of 30 passes before leaving after Henry Ruggs III took a shuttle pass 57 yards for a score late in the third. He hit tight end Hale Hentges for two more scores. Hentges had only one catch in the first three games and said he hadn’t had a two-TD game since his high school finale.

“I never dreamed of getting two,” he said. “I always thought about just getting one.”

Harris didn’t get many touches but had a 35-yard run and a 52-yard catch.

“We were fortunate that we made a lot of big plays on offense,” Tide coach Nick Saban said. “We really threw the ball effectively and scored a lot of points, but we really didn’t control the game. We didn’t control the line of scrimmage. We struggled to run the ball offensively with consistency.”

Mond completed 16 of 33 passes for 196 yards with a touchdown but was intercepted twice, including on his first throw. He collected 98 yards rushing despite getting sacked seven times.

The SEC’s top rusher, Trayveon Williams, found little room to run. He gained 31 yards on eight carries.

Texas A&M seemed poised for a while to give the Tide its first test of the season. But Tagovailoa & Co. scored 10 points in the final 1:09 before halftime for a 31-13 lead.

Tagovailoa set up a touchdown with a 52-yard pass down the right sideline to Harris. Then freshman cornerback Patrick Surtain Jr. intercepted Mond’s deep ball and the Tide drove for a field goal.

Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher was impressed with Tagovailoa and his supporting cast.

“He’s good. I mean he’s good,” Fisher said. “He’s got good people around him. I mean he’s got really good people around him, and we tried to pressure him and he scrambled and they’ve got a good scheme, and they did a good job. He was very effective at what he did, and we’ve got to play better.”

Houston 70, Texas Southern 14

HOUSTON — D’Eriq King accounted for four touchdowns as Houston scored on its first six possessions and routed Texas Southern 70-14 on Saturday night.

Houston (3-1) put up a program-best 671 yards of offense against Texas Southern (1-3). The Cougars lead the nation with four straight games with 550 yards or more of offense each.

King ran for a 6-yard score and threw three touchdown passes to three different receivers all in the first half. Chandler Smith and Kevrin Justice both had short TD-runs and the Cougars led 42-0 at halftime.

King completed 20 of 25 passes for 200 yards. Clayton Tune added 186 yards on 12-of-23 passing and two touchdown throws. Smith finished with two TD-runs, and Kelan Walker had 105 yards rushing on nine carries and a touchdown.

Bobby Hartzog Jr. had nine receptions for 173 yards and a touchdown catch for Texas Southern (1-3).

The Cougars 70 points at home is still a bit short of the school record; they beat Tulsa 100-6 in 1968.

Texas Tech 41, No. 15 Oklahoma State 17

STILLWATER, Okla. — Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury admitted he didn’t know how good Alan Bowman was when he put the freshman into the season opener after an injury to starter McLane Carter.

Kingsbury and the rest of the Red Raiders have a pretty good idea what Bowman is capable of these days.

Led by Bowman’s 397 yards passing and two touchdowns, Texas Tech won its third straight game since that opening loss to Mississippi with a 41-17 victory over No. 15 Oklahoma State on Saturday night.

The win put an emphatic end to a nine-game losing streak to the Cowboys for the Red Raiders (3-1, 1-0 Big 12), whose last victory over Oklahoma State came in 2008. Moreover, it kept Texas Tech undefeated under its youthful backup quarterback — who is doing his best to stay on the field when Carter returns.

“(Bowman’s) not hesitant for a young guy to do what he’s doing,” Kingsbury said. “It’s impressive. I’ve been in his shoes and coached young guys, and he just cuts it loose.”

Bowman completed 35 of 46 passes in his Big 12 debut, guiding the nation’s top offense to 621 total yards. Demarcus Felton added a pair of rushing touchdowns for Texas Tech and finished with 121 yards rushing on 12 carries.

Nine Red Raiders caught passes, with Ja’Deion High leading the way with eight catches for 79 yards. Antoine Wesley and Zach Austin finished with seven catches apiece, courtesy of the first-year quarterback who was making his first start away from Lubbock.

The win was Texas Tech’s first over a top-15 team since 2011, and it capped a welcomed September turnaround after the loss to the Rebels.

“Everybody’s all in,” Felton said. “The coaches are all in, the players and nobody is taking short corners.”

Justice Hill rushed 12 times for 111 yards and a touchdown for the Cowboys (3-1, 0-1), the 10th straight game the junior has scored. Tylan Wallace had seven catches for 123 yards.

After leading Oklahoma State to a win over Boise State a week ago, Oklahoma State quarterback Taylor Cornelius struggled — finishing 18-of-38 passing for 258 yards with a touchdown and interception.

“It’s pretty simple,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “We got out-coached and out-played, and they were tougher than us. I mean, I don’t really know any other way to put it.”

The win was the first against the Cowboys for Kingsbury, who is now 1-5 against Oklahoma State and Gundy.

Whether it was the last for the time being under Bowman’s watch is anybody’s best guess, with Kingsbury saying he’ll wait until Carter is fully recovered before making a quarterback decision.