After Oklahoma posted a 37-0 shutout of Missouri, Cyclone head coach Dan McCarney knew he would have some work to do.

“They’ve put up a couple of shutouts, and that’s hard to do against anybody. They’ve played great on both the offensive and defensive ends,” McCarney said.

The Sooners feature an attack that emphasizes the pass, something the Cyclones have not seen too much of this season.

“They throw the ball almost 70 percent of the time, and they are so hard to prepare for. They have so many different sets and formations that it’s tough to prepare for in only four days,” McCarney said.

The Cyclones know that quarterback Josh Huepel will give them problems.

“He is a very good quarterback. He’s mobile, he’s got a real quick release, and gets the ball to his receivers very well,” Cyclone safety Jeff Waters said.

The Cyclones know that one way the home turf could work for them is for a typical Iowa November day to appear.

However, the forecast hardly shows snow, rain and chilly temperatures, something McCarney is not pleased about.

“Well, it appears that the blizzard that we were hoping for is not going to work out. The forecast calls for 70 and sunny, which isn’t what we wanted to hear,” McCarney opened the press conference by saying.

Rain or shine, the game Saturday will be the last of the year at Jack Trice Stadium, and some players will not see the friendly confines again as a player.

Seniors like Jeff Waters, Darren Davis and David Brcka will be playing their last game at home, something that is motivating to the squad.

“This is a big game for us. We’d love to go out with a win. It was a fast two years, and I’ll never forget them,” Waters said.

Cyclones quarterback Sage Rosenfels knows that Davis will want to go out with a flurry.

“Darren is one of the best running backs in school history, he’ll go down as a legend here at Iowa State. People have really seen his progression from his freshman year until now. It’s been fun to watch,” Rosenfels said.

McCarney feels that the morale of the club is as healthy as ever despite the string of demoralizing losses ISU has faced.

“The attitude has been really good around here. We know we still have a chance at a winning season and postseason play, so that I’m sure has a lot to do with it. This is the most I’ve had riding on the 10th game of the season since I’ve been here, that’s for sure,” McCarney said.

McCarney feels that the Cyclones still have a chance to get a bowl bid, something that has eluded Iowa State since 1978.

“There are going to be a lot of bowl scouts there on Saturday, and they’re not going to be looking just at Oklahoma. In this conference, if you can finish with a winning record, you’re a definite postseason candidate. We saw that last year when the conference sent seven teams,” McCarney said.

The players say they aren’t really looking ahead to the postseason just yet.

“We just like to take it game by game. That’s the way we have to, with the schedule we’ve played. The first objective we have is to win this Saturday,” Waters said.

To do so, the pass defense that was shredded by Major Applewhite and the Texas Longhorns will need to step up.

“We’ve got a couple of backups in there, and they are doing their best. We’ve tried to have them avoid the big play if at all possible, and they’ve done that for the most part,” McCarney said.

Waters is looking forward to the challenge of facing one of the premier passing games in the nation.

“We need to come out and play well. It’s going to be fun, the ball’s going to be in the air all the time, and we just need to be patient and make big plays out there,” Waters said.

This will mark the first time since ISU took on UNLV on Sept. 24 that they will not be playing a team that made a bowl a year ago.

The bad news is that, at 5-3, the Sooners will be back in the postseason this year in all likelihood.

For the Cyclones to join them, a victory Saturday is essential.