Kansas coach Mark Mangino keeps answering the question with the same response.

The eighth-ranked Jayhawks are receiving more and more national recognition for being one of only five teams left undefeated. And everyone wants Mangino to explain how he keeps his team down-to-earth and how he shields them from the unforeseen hype.

“I know you’ll chuckle when I tell you this but we prepare for a nonconference game just like we’d prepare for a top-10 team,” Mangino said. “We don’t do anything extraordinary here. We just stay in our routine. We stay focused on our work and our task at hand.”

The answer makes reporters wince, fans giggle and sports radio hosts poke fun. Mangino’s philosophy is cliché and it’s “coach’s speak.” But day after day and week after week, he alludes to staying focused as the primary reason for consistent performances out of his team.

Maybe, the reason really is more legitimate than a mindless response to a repeated question. After all, Mangino’s team has beaten its eight opponents this season by an average of nearly 30 points per game.

That just hasn’t happened for many other teams this college football season, where massive upsets have occurred as frequently as hot weather in the summer. Mangino said the Jayhawks haven’t been knocked off because they feel no pressure.

“We’re not standing to prove anything, we’re willing to earn our own way, we talked about that with our players and they are comfortable with earning their own way,” Mangino said. “We’re not trying to make any statements.”

Too late. With a list of accomplishments lengthier than the list amendments to the United States Constitution, the Jayhawks have made a statement. Sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing was named a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award, the defense ranks second nationally in scoring defense and the Jayhawks are 8-0 for the first time in 98 years.

Mangino said that while he was proud of his players for the accolades, the team spends no time talking about it. Sophomore running back Jake Sharp said the team’s success reflected back to Mangino’s attitude.

“Coach just tells us, ‘a win is a win,’ ” Sharp said. “A win is a win if we beat Michigan. Who we are playing and what they are ranked that week has no effect on us and I think that’s the way you have to approach it.”

The week-to-week ideology has worked at other schools where Mangino saw it first hand. He said his time Norman, Okla., helped to shape his head coaching beliefs.

“I kind of picked that up a little bit when I was an assistant at Oklahoma with Bob Stoops,” Mangino said. “Everyone has all these traditions, who runs down the hill, touches rocks and all that stuff. When I was at Oklahoma, their tradition was get in the locker room, put on your uniform, go out and win the game, shower and go home.”

In Mangino’s three years as an offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the Sooners, they went 31-7 and won a national championship. Can the same philosophy bring similar results to Lawrence? Don’t ask Mangino because he’s concentrating on Saturday’s game against Nebraska.

— Edited by Rachael Gray