Flora’s five touchdowns carry Iowa State past West Virginia, 45–42

Aiden Flora ran for 212 yards, threw two touchdown passes and scored the decisive touchdown with 1:57 remaining as Iowa State beat West Virginia 45–42 Saturday in Ames. The Cyclones survived a game with 1,095 combined yards to earn their first Big 12 victory of the season and improve to 3–2 overall.

Flora’s two-yard run completed a six-play, 74-yard drive after Michael Hawkins Jr. had put West Virginia in front with a 47-yard touchdown pass to DJ Epps. Iowa State’s final answer depended on more than its leading rusher: Jaylen Raynor found Cody Jackson for gains of 25 and 15 yards on the winning possession, and a pass-interference penalty moved the Cyclones to the two-yard line.

West Virginia still had a chance, but Epps lost a fumble after a reception on the ensuing possession. Iowa State recovered, and Flora’s later 11-yard run produced the first down the Cyclones needed to close the game. WV MetroNews’ live report documented both the turnover and the final first-down run. The Mountaineers fell to 3–2 and 0–2 in conference play; Iowa State moved to 1–1 in the league.

Flora’s afternoon combined three rushing touchdowns with two scores through the air. He completed both of his passes, a 46-yard touchdown to Jackson in the second quarter and a two-yard score to Vince Benetti with five seconds left before halftime. Those two throws accounted for 48 of Iowa State’s 312 passing yards and helped the Cyclones take a 21–14 lead into the break.

The lead grew to 28–14 when Flora scored on a 24-yard run early in the third quarter. West Virginia answered with Hawkins’ seven-yard rushing touchdown and Cam Cook’s nine-yard score, tying the game at 28 before the fourth quarter. Neither offense had finished finding its way to the end zone.

After Kyle Konrardy’s 35-yard field goal restored Iowa State’s lead, Cook scored from eight yards out to put West Virginia ahead 35–31. Flora immediately reversed that advantage with a 63-yard touchdown run. Iowa State’s official game-day clip shows that long run, which gave him two rushing and two passing touchdowns at that point; his winning short run came later.

Hawkins’ touchdown pass to Epps then made it 42–38 with 5:04 remaining, setting up Iowa State’s final scoring drive. Hawkins finished with 227 passing yards and two touchdown throws, plus 149 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Cook added 142 yards and two scores on 20 carries. West Virginia ran for 291 yards and gained 518 overall.

The Cyclones matched that production through several players. Raynor completed 19 of 27 passes for 264 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Jackson caught six passes for 160 yards, while Flora needed 22 carries for his 212 yards. Iowa State finished with 577 total yards and held the ball for 38:14. Its offense supplied the last touchdown; the late takeaway made that lead stand.