The relationship between Kansas coach Mark Mangino and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops runs deep. Back to the days when the Big Eight Conference still reigned and games against Kansas State were believed to be automatic wins. It continued when the tandem teamed to help return the Sooners to national prominence.

They’ve also battled against one another on the field and off it for recruits.

The foe part of the relationship will be renewed at 2:30 p.m. Saturday when the fourth-ranked Sooners face No. 16 Kansas at Owen Field.

Neither has problem with the competition.

“It is a great relationship. We have played against each other before and we will do it again. He is a very close friend of mine. He is a guy that I can always count on and he can count on me,” Mangino said. “But we are both competitive. It has absolutely no effect on the competition that takes place (there) on Saturday. We understand what is expected out of us professionally and that is all that matters. There is no one football game or one recruit that will change the relationship that we have.”

Saturday’s meeting will be the third between them, but it could be a little different than the first two. The Sooners claimed a 41-10 victory in 2004 and a 19-3 win in 2005.

Those games took place when Mangino’s rebuilding process at Kansas was still at the foundation level. His program has added some levels in the three years since.

Kansas (5-1, 2-0) has won 17 of its last 19 games, including an Orange Bowl victory last season, and is the only team in the Big 12 North that’s still undefeated in conference play.

Quarterback Todd Reesing has played as well as any quarterback in the Big 12 over the last two seasons. He’s averaging exactly 330 passing yards a game and the Jayhawks are averaging 34.3 points .

This isn’t the typical OU-Kansas meeting over the last decade. Stoops figured things would change when Mangino took over the Jayhawks.

“Mark has a great work ethic. He has great discipline. And I love the fire in him and the emotion and the passion to coach and do well. Plus he’s a bright guy on top of it,” Stoops said. “I like that he always had a tough mindset of what he expected of his players and how he wanted them to play. So, Mark’s got a lot of great qualities that are evident to everybody now.”

They were evident when Mangino was at OU. He arrived with Stoops’ original staff in 1999 as offensive line coach. He moved up to offensive coordinator in 2000 and the Sooners went 23-2 during the offense’s 25 games under his direction.

Even though he’s been gone since the end of the 2001 regular season, there’s still an affection for him among OU fans.

“I was lucky in that I was able to be there (OU) at a time when they won a national championship. When you do that, they don't forget very quickly,” Mangino said. “They know all nine assistant coaches that were on that staff. They are really great fans and great people down there. They treat me like I am still a part of their program down there.

“My first three or four years at Kansas, if we won a game, probably 20 percent of my mail was from OU fans that were well-wishers. The last time I went down there the fans were waiting at the gate and they were telling me, ‘welcome home.’ If you win a national championship there then they declare you a resident of Oklahoma forever.”