Whatever coach Mark Mangino has up his sleeve to keep KU’s concentration, it has worked wonders so far.

Not only are the Jayhawks succeeding, they’re sustaining even as outside attention – be it newfound praise or even lingering doubt – continues to mount.

“Coach keeps us focused,” cornerback Aqib Talib said after KU’s 19-14 victory over Colorado on Saturday. “Coach makes sure he has a speech every week for us to keep us down to earth.”

Cue the image of Knute Rockne addressing his Notre Dame squad in 1928.

Nick Krug

It’s not quite that dramatic, of course. It’s just that No. 12 Kansas (7-0 overall, 3-0 Big 12 Conference play) hasn’t been this good in more than a decade. The current players – some of whom were 6 years old the last time KU started 7-0 – are green to what accompanies such success.

That’s where coaching, and speeches, come in to play.

“When I talk to the team after practices, I deal with the issue at hand for that particular time,” Mangino said Sunday. “It may be during a season we struggle, so you discuss those issues.

“In this case here, it’s success. I’m a firm believer that if you don’t handle adversity or success well, you’re doomed for problems.”

The Jayhawks obviously have responded each week. They rolled past five beatable opponents at home by a wider margin than anticipated, then won two huge conference games on the road when past failures were cited as a reason they might not.

Prominence does have its consequences, one of which is the increased vigilance of the national media. Mega-newspapers like the New York Times have profiled Talib, and ESPN came to a recent practice to capture behind-the-scenes footage for its popular “College Gameday” show.

Heading into Saturday’s game at Texas A&M – which again will be televised nationally on ESPN2 – the Jayhawks can expect the attention to intensify. It will as long as they stay undefeated.

So far, KU’s players have handled it well. Mid-week speeches may have something to do with it. But Mangino said it’s more of a proper mind-set that the players have adopted for this increasingly wild ride.

“We’ve worked hard to attain success,” Mangino said, “and the way we’ve done that is just by taking care of the business at hand every day.

“Our kids are really grounded. I don’t see that affecting us. This group of kids here is pretty focused on the task at hand.”

Added linebacker Joe Mortensen: “It feels good to be 7-0. But we’re just a one-track mind right now. We’re on A&M. We can’t really look ahead. We’re just going to try to win every game and see what happens at the end.”