STILLWATER, OKLA. ? Les Miles has accumulated his share of memories in the Rose Bowl.

While at Michigan, Miles was in one Rose Bowl as a player and five more while on the coaching staff. He speaks fondly of thunderous crowds and the historic matchups in college football’s most storied stadium.

But the Oklahoma State coach isn’t concerned about taking a Cowboys team with a young offense into a situation that could be overwhelming. Miles doesn’t expect the stadium to be as loud and intimidating today when the Cowboys play UCLA as it was in the postseason games the Wolverines played there.

“I’m told it’s not going to be as loud,” Miles said. “But it’s still going to be a good football team. It’s still a beautiful place, a great afternoon for a football game. We’ve just got to go win.

“It’s not who we’re playing necessarily or where we’re playing. We’ve got to get the season started right.”

That’s something the Cowboys haven’t done lately.

They’ve opened on the road the last four years and have lost three openers in a row.

The Cowboys started last season with a 17-7 loss at Nebraska. Miles said that atmosphere, with the sea of red whipped into a frenzy by the return of 800 former players for a special ceremony, should far exceed what he expects today.

“I think Lincoln would be as loud and impressive place as we’ve been,” Miles said.

“I think our guys will not have the same distraction they had at Lincoln. I don’t think they were distracted at Lincoln. I think they played without distraction. I think Nebraska got us that day.”

The Cornhuskers forced five turnovers in the game and held Oklahoma State to less than 200 yards of offense in the game. After that stumble, the Cowboys reeled off seven straight wins.

Oklahoma State hopes to avoid an early misstep this season so it can build momentum for a difficult Big 12 schedule.

Donovan Woods will make his first start at quarterback.