Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino is so adept at biting his tongue when talking football, it’s amazing he still has one.

Except when it comes to talking about Texas, mighty Texas.

Tuesday, Mangino didn’t approach his famous “That’s right, the BCS,” blast job on the official who called Charles Gordon for a bogus offensive pass interference penalty. But he did have the guts to say exactly what I was thinking when I read that Texas coach Mack Brown was using Mangino’s postgame tirade as a means to motivate his Longhorns for this Saturday’s game in Austin.

“If you’re the best team in America and you’re looking for motivation, maybe we’ve got a chance Saturday,” Mangino said.

It never occurred to me that KU had any chance to go the distance with the Longhorns for the second year in a row until I heard about Brown searching for ways to fire up his team, which is favored by 34 points and coming off a 62-point win over Baylor.

It makes you wonder: Does the vaunted KU defense scare Brown? Does he know something about last year’s game being so close that makes him believe we’re all in for a riveting replay? Is the pressure of the nation’s second-longest winning streak getting to him in a way that he’s panicking? Don’t forget, this is a coach who has battled big-game blues throughout his career. At this point, with a national title showdown with USC on the horizon, every game is a big game.

Iowa State is the biggest one left on KU’s schedule because a win over the Cyclones means a bowl game for the Jayhawks. The trip to Austin is a nice diversion, a chance to see an awesome football team, a campus that screams athletics, a cool, clean town. At least that’s what I thought until catching wind of Brown’s motivational tactics.

Maybe Brown is having nightmares after seeing a replay of the punishing block KU linebacker Brandon Perkins used to flatten Nebraska tailback Cory Ross on Kevin Kane’s interception return for a touchdown. You see that block once on film, you see it a million times in your head.

Maybe Brown fears KU, which made Brad Smith look more like a freshman than a senior, can at least slow down Heisman hopeful Vince Young. Smith is no Young and Missouri is no Texas, but Smith does lead the Big 12 in rushing and ranks seventh in passing yardage. Young ranks third in the conference in both categories. Against KU, Smith rushed for 38 yards and passed for 141. Smith shouldn’t get down on himself. He has plenty of company. Opponents average 1.9 yards per rush against KU.

And the Jayhawks’ secondary never has been healthier, defensive end Charlton Keith is getting better by the minute, and linebacker Nick Reid, a handful on his worst day, will be more motivated than ever with the clock ticking on his KU career and that missed tackle of Young from a year ago still fresh on his mind. Plus, the emergence of Dominic Roux at receiver will enable Mangino to play Charles Gordon more on defense.

Still, Texas is bigger, faster, stronger. That’s why the oddsmakers, going overboard a little, made the Longhorns 34-point favorites. So why is Brown freaking out? Makes you wonder.