What ISU head football coach Dan McCarney has is not a quarterback controversy — but rather a quarterback compromise.

In Monday’s Big 12 coaches teleconference, McCarney said he will continue to split time between quarterbacks Bret Meyer and Austin Flynn, with Meyer keeping his starting spot; and McCarney wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Both quarterbacks will play,” McCarney said. “I think everybody on this football team likes the way it’s going right now and we’ll continue to play both of them.”

McCarney said he is unsure whether playing two quarterbacks makes it more difficult for teams to prepare for the Cyclones.

“I don’t know what other people are thinking when they look at us right now, but I just know for our offense right now, it’s the best for us,” McCarney said. “They are two of our better offensive players, and I don’t want either one of them standing on the sideline for the whole game.”

The biggest question mark for the Cyclones still lies in their kicking game, and there likely won’t be any answers until game day.

Iowa State is currently last in the Big 12 in field goals and points after touchdowns made as it waits for the return of injured placekicker/punter Tony Yelk, who McCarney said is still day-to-day with his pulled leg muscle.

Freshman walk-on Brian Jansen has seen the most time at kicker this season, with fellow freshman Scott Krava seeing some time against Northern Illinois.

Combined, they have converted only 29 percent of their field goal attempts and are 7 of 10 in PAT attempts. No other team in the Big 12 has missed more than one PAT.

“It’s one of the real weaknesses of our football team,” McCarney said. “The backups have been trying to do the job since Tony’s been out of the lineup, and we’ve struggled with it.”

McCarney said he won’t make a decision about the kicker until later in the week.

“We’re last in the Big 12 in PATs and field goals made; that’s very disappointing,” McCarney said.

“We’ve put a lot of time in on it in the off week, and we’ll continue to evaluate those guys. There haven’t been any final decisions made.”

Aside from Yelk, the Cyclones also want injured center Luke Vander Sanden and defensive end Cephus Johnson back on the field for Saturday’s game at Oklahoma State.

“For sure, Luke Vander Sanden will be back. He’s been practicing and doing well,” McCarney said. “It’s still day-to-day with Cephus. [He’s] definitely improved, but we’ll see how [he] does as practice goes on this week.”

Though the Cyclones have had their share of injuries, they still haven’t been plagued as badly as last season.

McCarney said less injuries has benefited the team.

“It’s really helped. We still have had three of our best players out the last couple of weeks, but there’s no question it’s helped,” he said.

“We’re hoping that, through this unbelievably challenging Big 12 schedule, we stay a lot healthier than we were last year.”

McCarney said another factor in his Cyclones’ improved start to this season is the chip the team has had on its shoulder from the first day of practice.

“We just have a close team that was disappointed and embarrassed about last year’s season,” McCarney said. “We’ve all come back with more determination and commitment to get some respect back to this program that we worked so hard to bring to Iowa State.”