When it came to the Jayhawks’ bowl destination, Nov. 29’s 40-37 victory against Missouri was meaningless — the Jayhawks were headed to the Insight Bowl even if they had lost to the rival Tigers.

But the victory did do a lot to boost the confidence of the 7-5 Jayhawks, who will face the also 7-5 Minnesota Golden Gophers on New Year’s Eve in Tempe, Arizona. The Jayhawks now have 23 days to prepare for the Gophers with the big victory against Missouri still fresh in their minds.

“Let’s face it,” Mangino said. “When you come off a win against your border rival, there’s a great deal of enthusiasm among the players, coaches, everybody. The fan base is energized. Our players and coaches are excited. We’re ready to go.”

The Jayhawks were officially invited to participate in the Insight Bowl on Friday, but it had become the likely destination for several weeks. Minnesota started the season 7-1 but has lost four games in a row — including a 55-0 trouncing by Iowa two weeks ago — and finished 3-5 in the Big 10.

Kansas faced some of the top spread offenses in the nation in the rough Big 12, so facing a more traditional offense will be a welcomed sight for the Kansas defense.

“I really don’t know much about them,” said linebacker James Holt. “I just know that the Big 10 is well known for running the ball and our number one thing on defense is stopping the run, so I think that will play to our advantage with them running the ball a lot.”

The game will be at 5 p.m. central time on Dec. 31 on the NFL Network from Tempe. They will play at Sun Devil Stadium, the home of Arizona State and former home of the Arizona Cardinals.

Like last year in Miami, it means a nice break from the chilly Kansas winter for both the players and the fans.

“We’re definitely excited that we don’t have to worry about snow or anything,” Holt said. “I’m just really excited that it’s going to be warm because I’m sick of this cold.”

But while the Jayhawks will be in the background of one of the top party schools in the country in Arizona State, they know it will be all business once they get to Tempe.

“We all know that the reason we won last year was the way we prepared,” Reesing said. “We went down to Miami and had a good time when we were supposed to but we were working. We were practicing hard. We weren’t taking it lightly. We were very serious about our preparation.”

Kansas will arrive in Phoenix on Dec. 27 and have practices at a local high school on Dec. 28, 29, and 30 before facing Minnesota on New Year’s Eve. A group that has already set numerous school records the last two seasons, the Jayhawks aren’t just going to Phoenix to enjoy the warm weather and sun.

“We don’t want to just be in two bowl games back-to-back,” Reesing said. “We want to win two bowl games back-to-back. We want to establish the program and prove that we can get 20 wins in two seasons. That’s something that’s never been accomplished here so we’re playing for a lot of things. We’re definitely not going to take it for granted.”

— — Edited by Rachel Burchfield