STILLWATER — They wanted this type of stage, complete with major network television coverage under a sapphire sky usually only found on postcards with a kickoff temperature of 68 degrees to go with a light wind.

Aesthetics aside, the Oklahoma State Cowboys wanted something else: a chance to prove they could be resilient — and victorious — against another ranked team in No. 20 Nebraska after falling to No. 23 Texas A&M; on a blocked field goal in overtime a week earlier.

On both fronts, they got what they wanted in the form of a 41-29 victory at Boone Pickens Stadium and in doing so, a team that has seen its fair share of tough losses began to smile a little bit and talk about how good it can be.

“When I was continually asked about our football team not responding, I’m not sure that everybody believed that we (would) go back to work and we have great senior leadership and that our players practiced hard and had a good attitude and wanted to continue to work,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said.

They probably do now.

OSU quarterback Bobby Reid came back from a concussion suffered against the Aggies to orchestrate possibly the biggest victory in Gundy’s short coaching tenure at Stillwater.

Was this a statement game for Reid?

“Not just for me,” said Reid, who finished with 229 passing yards and two touchdowns. “The whole team. We’ve been thrown up against the wall with the two close finishes that we didn’t get the upper hand on but guys are starting to come together, and I think this is a turning point for us.”

Added OSU wide receiver D’Juan Woods: “This win helps get us rolling as far as confidence-wise, as far as just making things happen.”

After trailing 10-0 heading in the first quarter, the Cowboys played the role of a rubber band and bounced back into the game with a 16-yard TD pass and an 18-yard TD run by Dantrell Savage to trail Nebraska 16-13 with 4:13 left until the halftime.

That’s not where the turnaround started, though. That happened when quarterback Bobby Reid ran for 56 yards from his own team’s 31-yard line, and the team’s confidence appeared to grow following the play.

“That changed the game for us,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “We said, ‘OK, now we can score. If we stop them, we have a chance.’”

During the first half, that chance looked slim at best, simply because the Cowboys could not shut down the running of the game of the Cornhuskers, who lost 24-21 the last time they played in Stillwater in 2002. NU running back Brandon Jackson averaged 50.2 yards a game on nine carries per contest coming into Saturday’s game. The junior had a career-high 124 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns. He finished with 182 yards on 21 yards.

In the first half, Oklahoma State had the offense of a team that could be nationally ranked and a defense that, at times, was just rank. Reid and his fleet of receivers kept the Cowboys in the game as evidenced by a 45-yard scoring pass to Adarius Bowman with 45 seconds left until halftime that answered a 22-yard TD pass to Maurice Purify from Huskers quarterback and Norman native Zac Taylor.

Cue the resiliency theme again.

OSU defensive coordinator Vance Bedford took home the award for best halftime adjustments after he decided to go after Taylor with various blitz packages and stunts, a move that led to a near shutout in the second half.

The linebackers and linemen turned into Dobermans, and Taylor had a steak tied to his head. The Cowboys sacked Taylor five times for a loss of 46 yards, in addition to pressuring him numerous other times. The aggressive tactic led to OSU’s final score after OSU left end Nathan Peterson, who recorded two sacks, picked up a ball fumbled by Taylor and carried it 19 yards for a 41-23 Cowboys’ edge with 3:16 to play.

On the other side of the ball, the Cowboys found an effective running game to match the explosive power of the passing department, led by Dantrell Savage’s 117 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.

OSU (5-3, 2-2) needs one more victory to be bowl eligible. The sixth victory could come in two weeks against Baylor, but if the team can play like it did on Saturday, an upset in Austin next week could be in the forecast.

Confidence is power, and against a ranked foe, it was colored orange. Stay tuned as to whether that orange is bright and not burnt.