Stillwater, Okla. ? No. 14 Nebraska dropped the ball on its chance to stay undefeated. No one knows that feeling more than Niles Paul.

Nebraska’s Niles Paul drops a pass in this Oct. 16 photo against Texas in Lincoln, Neb. Paul and the Cornhuskers will try to regain their confidence when they take on Oklahoma State today in Stillwater, Okla.

The lasting images from the Cornhuskers’ 20-13 loss last weekend against Texas were four dropped passes that could have gone for touchdowns, including two by Paul. Heading into today’s game at No. 17 Oklahoma State (6-0, 2-0 Big 12), the Huskers’ message has been that all is not lost.

“I don’t see it any different,” coach Bo Pelini said. “Everything we want to do is still out there for us to get done. It hasn’t changed one bit.”

Nebraska (5-1, 1-1) no longer controls its own destiny in the national championship race but can still be a factor in the Big 12 title chase, particularly if it bounces back at Oklahoma State and then at home against No. 18 Missouri next week.

“Nebraska’s a really good football team,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “A week ago or 10 days ago, I think most people across the country would think that they would have a chance to compete for the national championship if they continued to move on.

“College football’s so unpredictable, and each week we’re all vulnerable based on our preparation and the willingness of our players to compete hard on Saturdays.”

Going up against the undefeated Cowboys gives Paul and the rest of the Cornhuskers a shot at redemption.

“What I do is I man up to my mistakes in that game, just like everyone else manned up to their mistakes in that game,” Paul said. “We all looked in the mirror and we came back and said, ‘We have a good team. We have a really good team.’

“If we play our ball game, we’ll win out the rest of the season.”

The game is the latest stop in Nebraska’s farewell to the Big 12 tour. The former Big Eight rivals faced each other every year from 1960 to 1995 in a series dominated by the Cornhuskers. Between 1962 and the early years of the Big 12 in 1999, Nebraska was 35-0-1 against the Cowboys.

Oklahoma State, however, has won three of the last four games, including a 45-14 blowout victory in Lincoln in 2007.

“It’s kind of surreal because living in Oklahoma my whole life, I’ve followed the Big 12 a long time. It’s kind of weird to have Nebraska just kind of up and leave,” Cowboys quarterback Brandon Weeden said. “It’s going to be kind of surreal. It’s going to be kind of weird. It probably won’t sink in until next year when they’re actually gone.”

Pelini has said Taylor Martinez will be back at quarterback after he was benched for ineffectiveness against Texas. The speedy freshman, who’s averaging 126 yards rushing, and the rest of Nebraska’s fourth-ranked run offense will face a defense that ranks 92nd in the nation in yards allowed but has been getting the job done largely with takeaways.

“Our defense hasn’t seen a guy like that, and it’s different defending a guy like that,” Gundy said. “You’ve got to be accountable for him at all times because if you’re not accountable for him and he makes one guy miss, you may not ever catch him.”

Oklahoma State also faces the stiffest challenge yet for first-year offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen’s prolific attack, which ranks second in the nation in scoring (49.5 ppg) and yardage (535 ypg) and third in passing (361 ypg). Nebraska has allowed its opponents the fewest yards passing and lowest quarterback rating in the country, and talented Huskers cornerback Prince Amukamara will likely matchup with explosive Cowboys receiver Justin Blackmon all day.

“I like our secondary,” Pelini said. “I think they match up well against any receiving corps. I have a lot of confidence in our guys.”

Nebraska has won six straight road games and will try to prevent the Cowboys from getting to 7-0 for only the third time in school history.

“We’re undefeated right now,” OSU defensive tackle Shane Jarka said, “and we want to keep it that way.”