The temperature was 50 degrees — and dropping — at McCracken Field when the Jayhawks started their first practice in Florida in preparation for Monday’s date with North Carolina State in the Tangerine Bowl.

“We packed bathing suits,” KU coach Mark Mangino quipped. “They say it’s going to warm up. This is still warmer than Lawrence, so we’re not complaining.”

KU boarded a chartered 777 at noon Wednesday from Forbes Field in Topeka and headed straight to the practice field upon arrival in Orlando. The team will work out again today at McCracken Field — a facility adjacent to Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium — at 9:45 a.m. CST today. The forecast was sunny with a high of 62.

“It’s a little cooler than we expected,” North Carolina State coach Chuck Amato said after the Wolfpack arrived at their team hotel, the World Marriott. “It’s cooler here than it was at home.”

• Police escort: It didn’t take long for KU’s coaches to be reminded that none of their players had participated in a major-college bowl. The Jayhawks apparently didn’t have much to say on the ride from Orlando International Airport to the practice field.

Thad Allender/Journal-World Photo

“Our kids on the bus were perfectly quiet,” Mangino said. “When you have a police escort to a stadium, you’re going to play on gameday and you’re real quiet and concentrating. The coaches up front were laughing because the kids were dead silent. I told one of our coaches, ‘Do these guys know this game is a week away?’

“When they saw the motorcops they were real quiet like we were going to play a game today. They’ve never been to a bowl game. They don’t know you get a police escort everywhere you go.”

The Orlando police weren’t done with the team. Officers met with the team after practice to give players advice on places to go — and places to stay away from — during their trip.

Mangino gave the players a 2 a.m. curfew and said that curfew would get earlier each night as gameday approaches.

• Air space: Mangino was impressed with the American Airlines 777 that transported the team.

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“The pilot called it the queen of the fleet,” he said. “In first class and business class, the chairs tilted, and you could lay down. I flew to Tokyo to play Nebraska one year on a big double-decker plane, but this was first class.”

Mangino was an assistant at Kansas State when the Wildcats played the Cornhuskers in Japan in 1992. The Huskers won the Coca-Cola Bowl — which actually was a glorified regular-season game — 38-24.

Mangino also praised the pilot, who happened to be a former Arkansas State football player.

“He talked football the whole time,” Mangino said.

• Room service: KU’s players should enjoy their stay at the Caribe Royale. The resort, which is 1 1/2 miles from Walt Disney World, has four restaurants, two fitness centers and an arcade. The pool features a waterfall, a 75-foot slide and two hot tubs. The players’ rooms in Tower Two feature a living room, two televisions, a microwave and mini refrigerator.
• Full day: It was a busy day for the Wolfpack. Offensive lineman Sean Locklear and quarterback Philip Rivers both participated in graduation exercises in the morning before the team’s afternoon practice in Raleigh. The team arrived at it’s hotel approximately 6 p.m.

Amato planned to turn his team loose for the evening, and the Wolfpack had a 1 a.m. curfew. They practice at 9 a.m. today.

• What’s next: After today’s practice, the Jayhawks will spend the afternoon at Walt Disney World. Mangino likely will pass on the roller coasters.

“I went on Stone Mountain a few years ago with my wife and kids,” he said. “I don’t like roller coasters. They conned me. They told me it was one of those little trains that goes through the park. I got on, and it was a dang roller coaster.”

• Kickoff: KU (6-6) will meet N.C. State (7-5) at 4:30 p.m. Central Monday. It will air live on ESPN, Sunflower Broadband channel 48.