“This is not the way I would have drawn it up, but it was done prior to me being hired here,” Mangino said Monday during the Big 12 teleconference. “That’s OK. You have to play somebody, somewhere, sometime. We’ll find out a lot about our program, our players and ourselves on Saturday because it’s a good football team, a Big 12 football team that’s been to two consecutive bowls.”

Most rebuilding programs would seek a weaker, nonconference opponent for a season opener, but Kansas agreed to play its conference rival on a made-for-TV date on FOX Sports.

The Cyclones impressed a national TV audience last Saturday at Kansas City, Mo., when they rallied from a 24-0 deficit against then third-ranked Florida State in a 38-31 loss.

FSU stopped quarterback Seneca Wallace at the goal line on a disputed, game-ending play.

It was the second straight close call for Iowa State against a traditional power. The Cyclones lost to Alabama, 14-13, last season in the Independence Bowl when ISU missed a late field goal.

“Iowa State is a very good football program,” Mangino said. “Dan McCarney has just done a tremendous job of building a football program there.

“They lost a tough game to Alabama in the bowl game. They lost a tough game against Florida State that they should have won. I would say Iowa State is a strong, physical team. They’re well coached.”

Iowa State stuck with McCarney during some lean years, and that perseverance is paying big dividends now.

ISU didn’t win a game in 1994, the season before McCarney arrived in Ames. It took six years for the former Iowa and Wisconsin assistant to produce a winner, but the Cyclones have posted back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1977-78 under Earl Bruce.

Iowa State averaged 45,172 fans for six home games last year, the school’s highest total in 17 years. With increased attendance, bowl paydays and national TV exposure, ISU has continued to upgrade its facilities. Jack Trice Stadium will feature permanent lights for the first time this season, and a new videoboard has been installed. Iowa State also is beginning construction of a $9 million indoor practice facility.

Wallace is the poster boy for the resurgent program and is being mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate, despite his team’s opening-week loss. The senior from Sacramento, Calif., passed for 313 yards against the Seminoles. Wallace completed 22 of 33 passes, hooking up with seven different receivers.

“He’s cool,” Mangino said. “He’s calm. He throws very accurately. He can scramble. He can run with the ball. He can be a one-man show.”

Watkins OK: Mangino said defensive tackle Travis Watkins, who sat out most of last Wednesday’s scrimmage because of a sinus condition, was expected to play Saturday. The Derby sophomore is a projected starter.

Meet the press: Wednesday’s scrimmage was the only practice open to the public and media in a 14-day span. Mangino has limited media access to players, who have only been available for interviews once during preseason practices.

“There’s just a certain way you run a Division I football program if you want it to be successful,” said Mangino, who wants to limit players’ distractions. “That takes the changing of the mind-set of a lot of people that maybe were already here.

“The people here at KU have been very supportive and they are willing to adapt to our program. But I don’t think we have to step on any toes or ruffle any feathers. As long as people know we’re being fair and honest and doing what’s best for our players, I think that’s all that really matters and that’s all they really care about.”