KU football coach Mark Mangino answered questions from KUsports.com readers Friday. Mangino discussed the team’s first bowl game in eight years, NC State quarterback Philip Rivers and building on this year’s progress.

Moderator: We’ll begin our chat with coach Mangino in just a moment. Thanks to both him and our readers for their time today.

Bill: How does it feel to go to your first bowl as a Head Coach?

Coach Mangino: I’m very pleased for our players and our fans that we’re going to a bowl game. Our players have worked hard and have earned the opportunity to go to the Tangerine Bowl, so more than anything I’m very happy for our players.

VJ: Looking at next season, what is your No. 1 priority for building on this year’s progress?

Coach Mangino: Right now I’m more interested in focusing on the bowl game, but we will continue to build our program by continuing the same path that we have used to this point. We are constantly evaluating ourselves and always looking to improve ourselves. We just need to keep showing improvement on a daily basis.

Jhawk: How will you keep the team focused on playing football and not fall prey to the distractions of a bowl game?

Coach Mangino: Our players realize that going to a bowl game is a lot of fun, but the most fun you can have is winning the game, and I believe our players are mature enough and smart enough to know when it is time to have fun and leisure and when it’s time to take care of business.

Brad: What is practice going to be like for the coming weeks? Will it be entirely 100% focused on preparing for NC State? Or will there be some more general preparation for next season as well?

Coach Mangino: We’re at the point now where the next two practices will be devoted to general team development, and then all the rest will be devoted to preparation for North Carolina State.

Rick: How do you plan stopping NC State’s quarterback?

Coach Mangino: Nobody has really stopped Philip Rivers this year, but there are some people who have done a good job of containing him, not allowing him to make too many big plays where he can hurt you. We’re not going to stop him, but we feel like we can do some things to possibly disrupt his rhythm and give him some different looks. He’s an awfully good player; no one’s going to stop him.

Brad: The personnel on this 6-6 bowl team and last year’s 2-10 team is very similar. In your mind, what has been the key difference between the two teams?

Coach Mangino: I think that there some similarities to last year’s team, but there are significant differences. When you look at the big picture, our team is more confident, has a better understanding of our philosophy, they’re bigger, faster and stronger than they were a year ago, and we have a good compliment of players who were in our program and developed and some key newcomers who have played a role in our success as well.

Marcus: How much of a role do quality “citizens” play in your success?

Coach Mangino: When we go out to recruit, we not only look for quality football players, but players who are going to be quality citizens and have great work ethic in the classroom. Sometimes we stub our toe, but I haven’t been involved with a program that doesn’t from time to time. I will spend more time with my players, for about seven to eight months of the year, than I will with my own family, so I want to be surrounded by great kids everyday, not just guys who can play football.

Curt: Is there a possibility we can get Travis Watkins ready for the game?

Coach Mangino: I don’t know. Hopefully he will be, but I just don’t know.

Jeff: Where is Charles Gordon’s future on the team? Offense, Defense or Slash?

Coach Mangino: Charles has a great future with our team. If it were up to him, he’d play in all three phases of the game, but we’re going to evaluate his situation and decide what’s best for him and the team collectively. Charles has a great attitude and will do anything he can to make our football team better.

Chad: Which Big 12 team most resembles the Wolfpack offense?

Coach Mangino: They really don’t resemble any one team in the Big 12 Conference, but I do see elements that resemble Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Texas Tech. They really don’t resemble any one team top to bottom in the Big 12.

Moderator: We have time for one or two more questions for coach Mangino.

Brad: How important is this first bowl game berth, under your watch, for the future of the program?

Coach Mangino: I think it’s always important to make progress when you take a new program. Basically this bowl game is just a landmark of progress for our program. It is not a goal that has been set that we believe tells us we have arrived. We just see it as another rung in the ladder as we climb toward excellence.

Moderator: Again, thanks to coach Mangino and our readers for their time this afternoon, and good luck to the Jayhawks in the Tangerine Bowl.