The comparison is almost too easy to make. Clemson played Texas A&M two weeks ago. The Tigers won 28-26 in a game just about as close as the score implies. Alabama played Texas A&M on Saturday. The result was slightly different.

The Crimson Tide’s 45-23 win against the Aggies was undoubtedly impressive, echoing the same sort of performance the Tide put together in wins against Louisville, Arkansas State and Mississippi to start the season. If anything, the score didn’t reflect Alabama’s dominance.

Now, Clemson’s win came on the road and Alabama’s at home. First-year A&M coach Jimbo Fisher had far greater familiarity with Clemson than with the Tide as a result of his previous stint at Florida State. In other words, that Clemson won by less than a field goal against the same team Alabama dominated doesn’t mean the Tigers aren’t one of the best teams in the country.

But it might just mean that Alabama is operating on a different level than the rest of the Football Bowl Subdivision.

FAST START:No. 1 Alabama sets tone early in defeat of No. 22 Texas A&M

MISSING MAN:Wake Forest lines up for field goal vs. Notre Dame without kicker

COLD TAKE:Wendy's trolls Nebraska, Scott Frost with 'Frosty' jab

The Tide gained more than 500 yards of offense four times in 14 games in 2017. They’ve already hit that total in each of their four games this fall. The Aggies’ 13 points at halftime nearly doubled the first-half scoring total Alabama had allowed through three games. Through four weeks, Alabama has outgained its competition by 858 yards – an average of 214 yards per game.

No single player at Alabama or elsewhere has been as spectacular as Tua Tagovailoa. The Aggies attacked the Tide’s running game with some success and asked Tagovailoa to beat their defense, and the sophomore did just that: 387 yards, 22-of-30 passing and four touchdowns.

Tagovailoa now 1,033 passing yards with 10 touchdowns without an interception while completing 72 percent of his throws. That’s insane. It’s also why everyone else is playing catch-up in the Heisman Trophy race. Hey, everyone’s trailing Alabama anyway.

Here are the rest of Saturday’s winners and losers:

Winners

Texas

The jury is still out on both Southern California and TCU. But that shouldn’t impact what wins against that pair in the past two weeks means for Texas, which needed to go on a winning streak to erase the taste of a season-opening loss to Maryland. Saturday’s 31-16 win against TCU was the Longhorns’ first in the series since 2013. And with several teams underachieving in the Big 12 Conference, the Texas team that’s showed up the past two weeks might be good enough for nine wins during the regular season. That would be a huge stepping stone for Tom Herman’s program heading into the offseason.

ON TRACK:Texas looks close to being back after beating No. 17 TCU

Buffalo

The Bulls were a rare bowl-eligible team left home during the postseason a year ago. It’s safe to say that’s motivated Buffalo and coach Lance Leipold to leave no doubt in 2018. Buffalo moved to 4-0 by going on the road and shoving around a Big Ten foe in a 42-13 win. The Big Ten team in question is Rutgers, but it still counts.

Notre Dame

Beating Wake Forest is nothing special for Notre Dame, but Saturday may have helped settle a quarterback conundrum. In throwing for 325 yards in the 56-27 win, sophomore Ian Book may be the answer the Irish are looking for heading into a key stretch that begins next week against Stanford.

SMART SWITCH:Kelly making Notre Dame QB change to Book was right call

MISSING MAN:Wake Forest lines up for field goal vs. Notre Dame without kicker

Old Dominion

After a disappointing start, Old Dominion notched perhaps the most meaningful win in school history with a 49-35 victory against Virginia Tech. The Hokies are the in-state gold standard, of course, while the Monarchs are still growing as one of the youngest programs in the country. ODU head coach Bobby Wilder had his team ready to go against a heavily favored opponent.

SHOCKER:Old Dominion stuns No. 10 Virginia Tech for first win of season

Losers

Oregon

It’s called the victory formation for a reason. Late in the fourth quarter against Stanford, Oregon had the ball, the lead and the clock on its side: The Ducks were ahead 31-28 with 54 seconds left and could’ve just taken a knee twice and punted back to the Cardinal with just seconds left. The odds of a Stanford in that scenario were extremely low, if not almost impossible to imagine. But Oregon coach Mario Cristobal and the Ducks decided against the victory formation and instead ran the ball – and then fumbled. Stanford kicked the field goal at the end of regulation for the tie and scored on the opening possession of overtime for a stunning 38-31 win.

On Oregon’s side, it’s a complete and utter disaster. Maybe that’s not strong enough. It’s the sort of boneheaded moment for a coach that can often linger long after the final whistle. It’s a loss that puts the Ducks behind the eight ball in the race for a division title. And it’s fodder for those who already wondered if Cristobal had what it took to bring Oregon back to national prominence in the wake of Willie Taggart’s single season with the Ducks. It’s a total disaster. Did I say that already?

Virginia Tech

This was a pretty embarrassing moment for the Hokies’ program, which may have been on the receiving end of a few upsets in the past – East Carolina and James Madison come to mind – but was expected to roll past ODU in a tune-up heading into conference play. After rising to No. 10 in the Amway Coaches Poll on the back of a win against a bad Florida State team, Virginia Tech will plummet on Sunday.

SHOCKER:Old Dominion stuns No. 10 Virginia Tech for first win of season

Nebraska

The 39-0 score after two quarters against Michigan was the largest deficit in Nebraska history, which merits a place on this list. The only place for the Cornhuskers to go is up amid an 0-3 start under Scott Frost. Frost’s background and long-term plan for his alma mater suggests the swoon won’t last forever.

Boston College

Boston College lasted a week as college football’s trendy new contender. Losing by 17 points on the road to previously winless Purdue changes that narrative. The Eagles are still good enough to win eight or nine games during the regular season, but that may say more about the lack of quality depth in Atlantic Coast Conference than anything.

Louisville

Everyone thought Louisville’s offensive would struggled without Lamar Jackson at quarterback. Everyone, that is, except for Louisville coach Bobby Petrino, who said during the summer that he expected “to be better” and “more balanced” on the offensive side. Well, the Cardinals have scored 80 points in four games, the worst such stretch in Petrino’s history as a college coach, and couldn’t eke out a touchdown in Saturday’s 27-3 loss to Virginia.