LINCOLN, NEB. ? Nebraska has matched last season’s victory total and is one win from becoming eligible to play in a bowl.

It’s time to talk Big 12 North title.

Or is it?

The Cornhuskers (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) were in the same position at this time last season, sharing the North lead with Missouri after three conference games. Nebraska lost four of its final five games and finished with a 5-6 record that was its worst since 1961.

Nebraska could put a game in the standings between itself and Missouri (4-2, 2-1) with a win over the Tigers on Saturday in Columbia, Mo. The other North co-leader, Colorado (4-2, 2-1), plays a home game against Kansas.

Offensive lineman Greg Austin said the Huskers are stronger mentally than a year ago and a similar meltdown is unlikely.

“You come to Nebraska to win championships, and when you don’t, the question is, ‘Why, why, why?'” Austin said. “So it’s not like we’re a program that just found itself in this position. We were planning on being in this position at the beginning of the year. Our plan is to finish it out.”

Having gone through last year’s debacle – his first year as coach at Nebraska – Bill Callahan is hesitant to talk about winning titles. He’s big on the “one-game-at-a-time” mantra.

But he said he has spoken with his players about what is possible if the wins keep coming.

“We talk about the race and how we are positioned in it… and how the race could shape up,” Callahan said. “Yeah, the race is something we talk about because that’s the main thing. That’s our goal.”

The Huskers haven’t played in the Big 12 championship game since 1999, and this season was supposed to be a continuation of the rebuilding project Callahan started last year. In the preseason media poll, Nebraska was picked third behind Colorado and Iowa State.

Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor, left, gives Baylor's Josh Bell at pat on the shoulder following the Huskers' 23-14 victory Saturday in Waco, Texas. The Huskers have won two of their first three conference games for the third consecutive year.

But “rebuilding” has never been part of the players’ vocabulary, Austin said.

Quarterback Zac Taylor said he and his teammates agreed before the season that they would be satisfied with nothing less than a division title.

“We’ve put ourselves in a good position,” Taylor said. “We still control our own destiny here. We lost that one to Texas Tech. They’re a South team, and it didn’t hurt us all that much.”

After playing at Missouri, the Huskers return home to play Oklahoma. Nebraska finishes on the road at Kansas, at home against Kansas State and on the road at Colorado.

A victory against Missouri could vault the Huskers back into the national ratings. They are one rung out of this week’s Associated Press Top 25.

Cornerback Cortney Grixby said he and his teammates aren’t concerned with the ratings.

“By the end of the season, if we’re 11-1 and ranked 26th, then something’s got to be wrong,” Grixby said.

Austin said he doesn’t care how voters perceive Nebraska.

“If they show you love, they show you love,” he said. “Keep on winning games, and they don’t have any other choice.”