Texas is not back.
Not on Saturday, anyway. Not without its burgeoning star QB, Quinn Ewers. Not on Nick Saban's watch.
But for 59 minutes against Alabama, Texas seemed astonishingly close to turning the page on a decade of heartbreak, embarrassment and jokes before falling to the Tide 20-19.
For much of the 12 years since Texas last played Alabama -- another game in which it lost its starting quarterback -- the Longhorns have served as a national punchline, with "Texas is back!" the easiest joke in college football.