KU freshman Josh Jackson on the cover of this year's USA Today college basketball preview.

Five tiny words on the cover of USA Today’s College Basketball preview section figure to get all kinds of attention across the country and particularly in Lawrence.

With freshman guard Josh Jackson seated on the Allen Fieldhouse bleachers and dominating the cover, the words “Title Talk” appear just above his left shoulder. Below that, in white text, is a quote from Jackson, who says, in no uncertain terms, “We’re trying to go undefeated.”

It’s an ambitious goal given KU’s challenging schedule, which features games against Top 25 foes Duke and Indiana right out of the gate. And it’s exactly the kind of things Kansas fans should want to hear from Jackson and anyone else on this team.

Somewhere between Joe Namath’s Super Bowl guarantee and the dawn of the insanely politically correct world we now operate in, gunning to be the best became an anger-inducing exercise.

“You’re not supposed to say that,” people will moan. “Who does he think he is,” others will ask. “Good luck with that, man. I hope you lose every game now,” still others will say.

Heck, even some Kansas fans are probably upset by the quote. You know the type. The ones who think words on a magazine cover or uttered into a microphone actually impact the outcome of games. As if teams aren’t already fired up enough to face and try to take down Kansas.

I like that Jackson said it. And I like even more that he meant it. That should — emphasis on should — be the goal of every player on every team, especially the top dogs who actually have a decent shot of making it happen.

I remember talking to Jamari Traylor about this very topic in the recent past and his take was that that should be the goal every year. Don’t be cocky about it, Traylor clarified, but you should show up to each season expecting to win every game you play, especially at a place like Kansas.

That certainly should be true for this year’s team which not only features the addition of Jackson but also includes a core that lacks nothing in the confidence department and is as experienced as it gets in college basketball these days. Duke, Kentucky, Siena or Oklahoma, you can bet guys like Devonte’ Graham, Frank Mason and Landen Lucas are expecting KU to win every game they play this season. And the fact that Jackson not only fits in with that mentality but also was bold enough to say it, shows you exactly how much KU’s one-and-done phenom could add to this team.

KU coach Bill Self has talked about Jackson having that alpha dog mentality. He’s said it about other players in the past, too, but, in most of those cases, I always got the feeling that Self was trying to will the words to become true rather than providing commentary on something that already was fact.

With Jackson, it does not sound like any willing is being done. Self has said from Day 1 that Jackson is one of the most competitive dudes he’s ever been around, even going as far as to say that adding him to the KU roster for the 2016-17 season will significantly upgrade the competitive nature of his team.

That’s high praise. Possibly the highest praise from a guy like Self. And, with this latest splash on the USA Today cover, Jackson is off to a great start at making his coach look good for saying it. And that’s without even having played a game yet.

Buckle up.