ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Last year, in the second week of the season, the Texas football team announced that it had arrived.

On Saturday, in this season's second week, the Longhorns made it clear that they aren't going anywhere.

Quinn Ewers threw three touchdown passes and the defense forced three turnovers as No. 3 Texas rolled to a 31-12 win over No. 9 Michigan at Michigan Stadium. The toppling of the defending national champions came one year after Texas inserted itself into the 2023 College Football Playoff conversation with a 34-24 win over then-No. 3 Alabama.

This time, Texas (2-0) didn't send too many shockwaves through the college football landscape with its performance inside another school's storied stadium. Texas was favored to win. But the Longhorns did make a statement.

Texas established itself early against Michigan

With a noticeable amount of burnt orange mixed in among the blue and maize in an announced crowd of 111,170, Texas won the coin toss and chose to receive. Over his first three years, UT head coach Steve Sarkisian had deferred after 16 of the 19 coin tosses the Longhorns had won. But with the wind at Michigan Stadium a factor, he mixed it up this time.

On the first drive of the day, DeAndre Moore Jr.'s 24-yard touchdown was negated by a holding penalty and Bert Auburn missed a 43-yard field goal. Four plays into UT's second possession, running back Jaydon Blue limped off the field after his 3-yard run gave Texas a first down inside the Michigan 25.

But what's a little adversity on the road?

Two plays later, Ewers connected with tight end Gunnar Helm for a 21-yard score. Backup running backs Quintrevion Wisner and Jerrick Gibson combined for seven touches on Texas' next possession, and Gibson's 7-yard touchdown run lifted the Longhorns to a 14-3 lead.

Texas expanded that lead to 21 points by halftime as its defense made Michigan pay for two turnovers. An interception by Clemson transfer and Austin native Andrew Mukuba turned into Auburn's 26-yard field goal. A fumble then set up a final-minute drive that Ewers capped with a 5-yard touchdown toss to Matthew Golden.

Texas 24, Michigan 3.

During the first half, the offense scored on four of its five possessions. The Longhorns accumulated 279 total yards. Helm, a senior, established career-high totals with his six catches and 76 yards.

"As much as that first drive — gosh, we kind of stubbed our toe with some self-inflicted wounds — I really thought the offense regrouped and settled in and found a nice rhythm there, especially in the second quarter," Sarkisian said.

"We're not going to let things like that rattle us," said senior linebacker David Gbenda. "We understood that was going to be a tough fight. We knew we were going to have to fight for four quarters, so we didn't want to give up immediately. We knew it was something that we had to go out there and just prove to the world that hey, we're here, we're not just some front-runners. We're here to establish Texas, a new Texas."

Texas was equally impressive on offense and defense

Texas never let its lead shrink under 18 points after halftime. Michigan got a late touchdown to make the score respectable, but by then many Wolverines fans had already left for the parking lot.

Ewers finished with 246 yards while completing 24 of his 36 attempts. Facing one of the nation's top rushing defenses, Texas ran for 143 yards, but 55 of those were picked up by freshman wide receiver Ryan Wingo.

Three different Longhorns — Helm, Golden and Blue, who did return to the game from his injury — had at least six receptions and a touchdown and Helm led the team with his 98 receiving yards. Those reception and yardage totals were both career highs.

"Gunnar, he's a warrior for us. He's a guy a lot of times kind of got overshadowed the last couple years with (Ja'Tavion Sanders) but was a really viable player for us a year ago and served a big role for us," Sarkisian said. "Gunnar's kind of worked his way and earned his time to be the front-line starter for us in year four, and he does things the right way and he's a great leader for a lot of the guys in that locker room."

Defensively, Texas held Michigan to 284 yards and forced three turnovers. After posting a shutout last week against Colorado State, Texas yielded only two field goals before Michigan hauled in a 31-yard touchdown with two minutes remaining.

"We're playing with a lot of confidence," Mukuba said. "I feel like us believing in each other plays a big role in that. We just tried to go out there and play physical."

Saturday's showdown was just the second-ever meeting between the two college football blue bloods. At 1,005 wins, Michigan is the country's all-time winningest program. Texas entered the week tied with Notre Dame with the fourth-most wins at 949.

Texas, though, is now 2-0 against the Wolverines. At the 2005 Rose Bowl, a walk-off field goal by Dusty Mangum ensured the Longhorns' 38-37 win. Twenty years later, the result was more lopsided.

Saturday also marked the first time since the 2006 Rose Bowl that Texas played the defending national champion. The Longhorns are 4-4-1 against reigning champs over the last 50 years. A 10th game during that span — UT's scheduled trip to LSU in 2020 — was called off because of the pandemic.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football beats Michigan 31-12 in key national showdown