STILLWATER, OKLA. ? Two days of film study simply drove home the point to Oklahoma State coach Les Miles: The Cowboys really had no chance of beating archrival Oklahoma.

“I’m not sure that we could have beaten Oklahoma on that day,” coach Les Miles said Monday, two days after his Cowboys were routed, 52-9, by the top-ranked Sooners.

“(Saturday) was Oklahoma’s day. Frankly, there’s no excuses. Certainly we’d have liked to made a better showing for ourselves than we did.”

But Miles isn’t sure that his overmatched team could have done even that against the Sooners, and that’s why a humiliating loss hurts even worse.

The No. 21 Cowboys (7-2 overall, 3-2 Big 12 Conference) thought they belonged among college football’s elite, riding the crest of a seven-game winning streak and their highest ranking since 1997. They looked poised for a school-record third straight win over their in-state rivals and ready to challenge for their first league title since 1976.

Instead of a huge leap forward, the 43-point loss — the Cowboys’ worst since a 71-14 defeat at Texas in 1996 — turned into a bitter pratfall.

“I think that in the growth of a program, there are windows of opportunity when a team gets a chance to step through and play on a grander scale,” Miles said. “I think we’ll be presented with that opportunity again. As you see the program progress, eventually those are games you must win.”

For now, Oklahoma State will refocus on trying to win 10 games for the first time since 1987 and jockeying for a prime bowl position.

Standing in the Cowboys’ way Saturday is a team that could write a book on recovering from embarrassing losses to Oklahoma — 11th-ranked Texas.

Dejected Oklahoma State players watch the final minutes of their 52-9 loss to Oklahoma. The Cowboys lost to their primary rivals Saturday in Norman, Okla.

“It’s a 48-hour rule,” defensive end Khreem Smith said Monday. “We have two days to get (the loss) out of our system. Then we have to look forward to another game.”

Still, it’s hard to determine what the residual effects will be from an emotional loss like this.

The only comparable defeat during Miles’ three years in Stillwater has been a 44-9 loss at Kansas State last season. Oklahoma State responded by winning six of its next seven, including the team’s first bowl victory in 12 years.

Only begrudgingly have the Cowboys admitted that there might be hangover from the loss.

“The feeling of losing is horrible in general,” receiver D’Juan Woods said. “We put a lot into the game.

“We can just use it as fuel for our fire. If I was in Texas’ position right now, I’d be afraid.”

Aware of the potential for a letdown against the surging Longhorns, Miles has eased off on criticizing his team in his postgame comments.

The coach even joked about placing a call to Texas coach Mack Brown on how to keep his team’s spirits up after getting stomped by the Sooners.

“Mack has a magic recipe there. Maybe I need to call him,” Miles said. “Me personally, I like coming off the Oklahoma game we did the past two years. Not so much this year.”

The jokes only lasted so long as Miles had to keep going into detail about the Sooners’ dominance.

“I really did do everything I could there to get through that,” Miles said before answering the umpteenth question about Oklahoma. “I truly respect that team, but it still sticks in the craw a little Monday.”