Iowa State offensive coordinator Mark Mangino, center, looks on during Iowa State's annual spring football game, Saturday, April 12, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Iowa State offensive coordinator Mark Mangino, center, looks on during Iowa State's annual spring football game, Saturday, April 12, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Kansas University interim football coach Clint Bowen certainly isn’t calling it this, but Mark Mangino Week is here.

The beloved former KU head coach who went 50-48 in his seven seasons here returns to Lawrence Saturday as Iowa State’s offensive coordinator.

Both the Cyclones and Jayhawks enter the game as co-occupants in the Big 12 cellar, at 2-6 overall and 0-5 in the league.

At Bowen’s weekly press conference Tuesday afternoon, he didn’t seem overly eager to talk about his former boss or his time working on Mangino’s staff, but he didn’t shy away from the inquiries, either.

Here are some of the highlights from the Q&A:

• ISU has beaten KU two years in a row. Coach Paul Rhoads’ guys play hard, play physical.

• KU’s 60-14 loss at Baylor takes a little while to bounce back from. As soon as the game ended the coaches told players it was time to put it behind them. There is plenty they can get done with the rest of the season, and that began with Sunday’s practice.

• On ISU offensive coordinator Mangino: Bowen spent eight years with him and he has a lot of respect for him. Bowen took a few things from Mangino, especially work ethic and attention to detail. It’s been a while since Bowen has spoken with him.

• On gamedays there are so many other things to think about. You don’t have time to talk to the coaches on other staffs that you know. Bowen made it sound like he isn’t planning on catching up with Mangino this weekend or anything like that.

• College football has changed since Mangino was at KU. ISU runs a similar offense to what Mangino ran at Kansas, but there are lots of different, updated parts to it.

• Rhoads’ teams usually don’t beat themselves, and that showed up when they played Kansas the past two years.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas quarterback Michael Cummings turns to throw as Baylor defensive end Shawn Oakman closes in during the first quarter at McLane Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014 in Waco, Texas.

• KU junior QB Michael Cummings has good pre-snap awareness and he uses that to see some things from opposing defenses. He makes those reads efficiently in situations where the Jayhawks have the choice of going with a pass or run play.

• Cummings had good numbers on paper at Baylor: 21 of 30, 288 yards, 2 TDs. There were a few plays he’d like to get back, such as the fumbles. He is a tough young man with a strong arm, and WRs Nigel King and Nick Harwell are making some plays for him, as well.

• KU would like to do more scheming offensive plays to confuse defenses. They can do that by taking rules defensive players live by and using those against them. Examples: a tight end releases on a run play; a guard pulls on a passing play.

• Freshman return specialist Derrick Neal will be out on Saturday, but KU is hopeful senior DT Keon Stowers and junior RB DeAndre Mann will be able to play vs. Iowa State.

• On having a new co-offensive coordinator: It’s always a collective effort to improve the offense, as a staff. It isn’t just up to WRs coach Eric Kiesau to change everything.

• When Mangino was here at Kansas there was a lot of attention to detail: Guys wearing specific things at practices, everybody touching a certain line in drills. They asked players to do something and do it right. Players were held accountable.

• Bowen has always done a little bit of advance work on Fridays for the following weekend’s game. The game plan for Saturday is set by Thursday night. Fridays are used to prep for Sunday’s practice, with some attention to the next week’s opponent.

• ISU junior QB Sam Richardson is throwing the ball better now that he’s an upperclassman, and he has speed and the ability to run the zone-read option. He looks comfortable and doesn’t panic.

• On senior LB Ben Heeney playing RB on 4th and short at Baylor: Heeney has a history of playing effectively at RB in high school at Hutchinson. The coaches thought he might be a guy who could be a tough back in those short-yardage situations.

• Iowa State has good players. “All of us are hunting for the mega-stars,” but unfortunately there aren’t a lot of those guys out there. It’s about developing the young men you have on your roster. There is only a handful of star-type players and everybody else has solid Big 12 players.

• The O-line is about playing fundamental football and having chemistry and communication. Those fundamentals truly come into play on every snap. Guys have to have some toughness, too, physically and mentally.

• As a young player, O-line is the toughest position to come in and play at. Development is critical. The longer you can keep them in your system, the better.

• John Reagan has worked the O-line hard all season, even before he split coordinator duties with Kiesau.

— Hear the entire press conference: Clint Bowen discusses ISU, former boss Mark Mangino