Mike Mangino is finding himself in a place no Kansas football coach has been in over a century – 10-0.

The Jayhawks, who are ranked No. 4 in the nation by the Associated Press poll, find themselves knocking on the door of a perfect season and 10-0 for the first time since 1899. First, they’ll have to get through Iowa State.

“Our players do not live in a glass bubble,” Mangino said. “They know what is going on around them. But this group of kids here is a very intelligent group of players.”

It’s also a team that has come a long way. Mangino, who took over the program in 2002, has led the Jayhawks to finishes of 2-10, 6-7, 4-7, 7-5, and 6-6. Quarterback Todd Reesing attributes much of this season’s success to last season, in which the Jayhawks lost five games by 10 points or less.

“We took the mentality and that chip on our shoulder and tried to put this program on the map and prove to people that KU football is for real,” Reesing said.

Now, with wins over Iowa State and Missouri the following week, Kansas could catapult itself past its current No. 3 ranking in the BCS standings. The Jayhawks have already reserved their spot in the Big 12 Championship game on Dec. 6. Still, Reesing said no one on his team is looking ahead.

“When it comes down to it, every game is worth one win or one loss,” he said. “Just because you are playing someone, it doesn’t mean you are going to get more points or lose more points because of it.”

Mangino agrees.

“Our focus is on Iowa State,” Mangino said. “We have not had that problem [of looking ahead] to this point and I don’t believe we will because this group of kids really understands what is taking place.”

Getting hot

With less than 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter, quarterback Bret Meyer almost found another person on the field with him – coach Gene Chizik.

Chizik, who ran out onto the field after an incomplete pass to senior wide receiver Todd Blythe, was upset after referees did not call pass interference on the play. Chizik was flagged with a sideline warning.

“Coach Chizik was about in the huddle with us for a second there,” Meyer said. “He got a flag. He got us fired up. He’s got our back, we’ve got his back and we were able to overcome it.”

One play later, Meyer completed a 37-yard pass to Blythe, which later set up an ISU touchdown.

“When I think there’s circumstances that require me to say how I think and how I feel then I’m going to do it,” Chizik said. “Luckily the offense covered my back on that one.”

Despite not getting the call, cornerback Allen Bell said it was exciting to see Chizik get so animated.

“Him and the referees always make the game exciting,” Bell said. “So anytime he’s going after somebody, that kind of fires us up too.”

Underdogs again?

Despite coming off its first back-to-back wins of the season, Iowa State is not favored to win Saturday’s game with Kansas. The Jayhawks enter the game as 25.5-point favorites to win, which doesn’t bother Chizik.

“We’ve been underdogs all year against everyone we’ve played,” Chizik said. “It would be great to end the season on a winning note and great to beat a team of Kansas’ caliber, but I don’t really harp a lot on that role. I mean, that’d be every week.”

Getting through the storm

Local weather forecasts are predicting game-time temperatures to be around the mid 60s Saturday, but senior linebacker Alvin Bowen knows it could get much worse on the field during the game.

“Chizik always says weather the storm,” Bowen said. “There’s going to be a storm in every game for both teams, you’ve just got to be able to weather the storm and pull through.”

Last week, that storm was the Cyclones’ play during the first half, when Iowa State fell behind Colorado, 21-0.

“For some reason, in the first half everyone took their turn making a mistake, or not getting a block, or not doing an assignment,” said offensive coordinator Robert McFarland. “We pretty much stunk it up the first half as an entire offense.”

The second half, the Cyclones came out and scored 31 points, including a pair of touchdown catches by Blythe. Bowen said the Cyclones can’t afford a similar first half against Kansas on Saturday.

“Hopefully if we stay fundamentally sound we’ll have a good chance,” Bowen said. “But as we all know, Kansas is a good team. We’re going to have to stay mistake-free.”

Selling the attendance

Besides back-to-back home wins to end the season, Chizik said he has more to sell to recruits – attendance numbers. The Cyclones, who drew 45,487 fans in Saturday’s home finale, fell just short of averaging over 50,000 for the season. In the Cyclones’ seven home games this season, they averaged 49,462 fans. Chizik thinks recruits will be drawn to that statistic.

“I think that’s a huge selling point,” Chizik said. “I’m just glad that we could get out of here with two wins at home, which is the last thing they’ll remember at least in person. Hopefully they’ll come back next year.”