Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Coach Mark Mangino knows Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and his team very well — and the state of Oklahoma knows Mangino.
The seventh-year Kansas coach was the offensive coordinator at OU in 2000 when the Sooners won the national championship. He also recruits hard from the state of Oklahoma as 12 players on the KU roster are from the Sooner state — the third highest of any state.
Oklahomans follow Mangino and Kansas, so Sooner fans will send Mangino notes of congratulations when the Jayhawks win a big game. When Mangino returns to the state, people will stop him at the gas station to talk football or just to say hello.
KANSAN
“When I got off the bus the last time I went down there, the fans were outside the gate and they were telling me, ‘Welcome home,’” Mangino said. “I guess if you win a national championship there then they declare you a resident of Oklahoma forever. They treat me like I am still a part of their program.”
Mangino worked as an assistant coach with Stoops at Kansas State before joining him at OU. Though Mangino tried to keep the focus on the game, it was easy for him to say good things about his friend.
“He is a very close friend of mine,” Mangino said. “He is a guy that I can always count on and he can count on me. But we are both competitive. It has absolutely no effect on the competition that takes place on Saturday.”
Mangino’s squad will be definitive underdogs going into Saturday’s matchup. As of late Tuesday night, the Jayhawks were 14-point underdogs to the No. 4-ranked Sooners.
“I always love being the underdog,” said linebacker James Holt, Oklahoma native. “I’ve been an underdog a lot in sports like in high school and stuff. It’s just great being able to prove people wrong when they pick against you. That’s always a big motivator.”
Even though Kansas is 20-3 in its last 23 games and has gone 9-1 in its last 10 Big 12 games, most national pundits are predicting a rout for the Sooners. Kansas lost 41-10 in 2004 — the Jayhawks’ last trip to Norman.
“Because of the name on our jersey, that’s how its going to be,” said Chris Harris, who also is from Oklahoma. “From here on out, we know were going to be the underdog. We thrive on that, we like being the underdog.”
Holt and Harris — two KU defensive stars — both grew up rooting for Oklahoma. Holt’s dad played for coach Barry Switzer at Oklahoma and his grandma gave him OU clothes for Christmas. Both have attended games at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and have seen how crazy the 85,000 screaming fans can be. Both wanted to play for OU, but neither were recruited by the Sooners — meaning Saturday is not just another game for them.
“Going against a team that you grew up wanting to play for — it’s got a different meaning,” Holt said. “Hopefully I can show them what they missed out on.”
So does the rest of the team, and they are ready to prove to the nation once again that they can compete at the national level. A victory against No. 3 Virginia Tech didn’t seem to do it, but maybe a win at No. 4 Oklahoma will.
“We have everybody right where we want them,” Mangino said. “This is the position we like coming from. When its coming up on the home stretch, we’d rather be coming around the bend three or four paces behind the pack. We always are best when we’re coming from the rear.”
— — Edited by Andy Greenhaw
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