Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

Houston arrived back home around 4 a.m. after Saturday’s 58-41 loss at Texas-El Paso, and by Sunday afternoon, players were in the facility watching film of the game and trying to learn their mistakes.

Houston coach Kevin Sumlin said that showed the maturity of his team to not dwell on the loss. It didn't matter that it killed any chance for a BCS bowl berth and caused the Cougars to fall out of the national rankings despite being ranked No. 12 heading into the weekend.

“I think our guys are all right,” Sumlin said. “I think they’re eager to play. We didn’t play well and UTEP played very, very well. And I think our guys are more than a little bit hurt by what happened last Saturday. I think they’re anxious, based on what I’ve seen. They’re anxious to get back to work and prove themselves.”

Sumlin said he didn’t see any lapse in practice despite the high ranking and the increased media attention. And he certainly didn’t see it when his team jumped out to a 10-0 lead early in the first quarter.

But then things started to unravel in the second half and Houston wasn’t able to slow the Miners' momentum.

Now, the Cougars are out to change their fortune.

Houston travels to Mississippi State this weekend for its final nonconference game of the season. The Bulldogs are 2-3 with their only wins coming against Jackson State and Vanderbilt.

A win could get the Cougars back into the national rankings. They’re the second team receiving votes in the Associated Press poll behind Wisconsin. Also, the Cougars are still in the hunt for the Conference USA West title, which they were predicted to win at the beginning of the season.

However, Houston players say they're not caught up with the rankings, they’re just concerned about getting back in the win column.

“We have to go out and prove ourselves every week whether we are ranked or not,” quarterback Case Keenum said. “That stuff doesn’t matter until the end of the year. There’s still a lot of football left to play and we just have to take it week by week.”