Is KU ready for this close-up?

There were years when Kansas couldn’t come close to the kind of television attention it has received this season, and now the Jayhawks probably wished the cameras weren’t pointing at them on Saturday.

The Texas game on Saturday will be the second of three straight weeks on an ABC regional telecast for Kansas, and this game will be beamed throughout Big 12 territory, much of the South and some parts of New England.

After Ron Franklin and Ed Cunningham get through breaking down Texas in the BCS, Colt McCoy’s Heisman chances and Todd Reesing’s return to Austin, the topic will turn to the controversial week that was at Kansas, and the cameras will focus on Mark Mangino with every mention.

This is a three-hour advertisement Kansas could do without, especially if the game gets out of hand.

But, hey, ABC appearances are good for the wallet. The league pays teams that appear on ABC a bonus of more than $300,000 per game.