The end of Dan McCarney’s tenure at Iowa State isn’t sitting well with his players.

The controversial circumstances surrounding his resignation – including the fact that McCarney will be paid the remainder of his contract, not something that usually happens when someone resigns – are a sore spot for members of the ISU football team.

The question asked to senior Ryan Baum was simple and straightforward: So, are you upset?

His answer was just as direct.

“Oh yeah,” Baum said.

He wasn’t done there.

“I had to go home and sit by myself and think about it for a minute,” Baum said. “It was like seeing a family member pass away. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through, and I’m still going through it until the day I walk out of here, which is Sunday.

“I don’t agree with it, but it’s not my decision. I know it’s a business decision, but it’s hard for me to comprehend why you would get rid of someone who had built this place, basically.”

Baum walked on to the Cyclone football team, making an impact on special teams. He returned a punt for a touchdown against Northern Iowa earlier this season.

“You can’t just walk in here and see the same faces anymore,” Baum said. “You can’t come in here and see Coach Mac and shake his hand on the field or talk to the players. I personally am having a hard time with it, and I know some of my senior friends are having a hard time with it.”

It isn’t just Baum who is upset. Senior Austin Flynn also had a few things to get off his chest . Asked to describe the team’s feelings about the decision, Flynn chose anger to describe his emotions.

“It’s mostly anger,” he said. “The whole situation, everyone wants to blame Pollard, and I’m sure he had his resources and people under him who fell into that decision. So I guess the whole decision by whoever made it, collectively.”

Flynn feels much of the blame for the situation should be traced back to the players – especially the senior class – not McCarney.

“We put a lot of blame on our shoulders, which we should,” Flynn said. “We’re the senior class. We’re supposed to carry on the legacy, carry on the tradition. I put a lot of the blame on our shoulders. Also, being a captain, it falls more on me too. Every one of these guys feel a little bit of that blame.”

Everyone is preparing for the season finale against Missouri with someone else in mind. McCarney wants a win for his players.

“I want this for [my players],” McCarney said. “I want to coach again. I don’t know when or where or how, but this isn’t about me. If you’ve ever played the game, there is one last time you pull on the uniform and that’s really, really meaningful.

“Hopefully I’ll wear a whistle again, but a lot of these guys won’t pull on a uniform again, and the finality of that is so meaningful.”

And his players want to win for him.

“He’s tried to take all the focus off himself and tries to put it on the seniors, playing for them,” said junior receiver Todd Blythe said. “As a team, we want to get this done for him.”ÿ

Cyclone injury update

After missing the last three games with the Epstein-Barr Virus, Blythe could be back on the field when Iowa State hosts Missouri.

Epstein-Barr Virus is a common virus in humans that can cause mono, especially during adolescence or young adulthood.

Blythe will see doctors both Monday and Tuesday, and if he is cleared by the doctors, he will be able to play.

He practiced before the Colorado game last week but was held out as a precautionary measure. The virus caused Blythe’s spleen to enlarge, making it dangerous for him to play.

“He’s jumping through the wall trying to play this game,” McCarney said.

For his part, Blythe said there is nothing that will keep him on the sidelines.

“You’re not going to be able to keep me out of this last game,” Blythe said. “Throw some foam on me and I’ll be good.”

The virus caused Blythe to lose 10 to 12 pounds, “and I’m not a big guy to begin with,” he said.

Running back Jason Scales and offensive lineman Tom Schmeling also have a chance to come back, McCarney said. So does running back Stevie Hicks, a senior who has also sat out the last three games with a knee injury.

“We’ll know more in the next couple of days as to whether he’ll be able to come back and play in his last game at Iowa State,” McCarney said.