Iowa State overcame two late deficits to beat West Virginia 45-42 in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday, October 3, 2026.
Aiden Flora delivered five touchdowns and scored the decisive points with 1:57 remaining.
The Cyclones sealed the Big 12 victory when Beni Ngoyi recovered a forced fumble in the final minute.
Iowa State (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) accumulated 577 yards of offense, while West Virginia (3-2, 0-2) recorded 518.
Their combined 1,095 yards ranked fourth among Football Bowl Subdivision games this season.
The 671 yards produced in the second half ranked second for that period.
Flora's Career Night Powers the Cyclones
Flora rushed 22 times for career highs of 212 yards and three touchdowns.
He also threw two touchdown passes on halfback plays, helping Iowa State overcome a 42-38 deficit after West Virginia scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions.
West Virginia took the lead with 5:04 remaining when Michael Hawkins Jr. connected with DJ Epps on a 47-yard touchdown pass.
Iowa State answered with a six-play, 74-yard drive, capped by Flora's 2-yard scoring run for the final 45-42 margin.
Iowa State's first-year coach Jimmy Rogers highlighted Flora's commitment to the program and his contributions on the field.
“The first thing we did here was put him on scholarship and secure he was coming back,” Rogers said.
“When others looked to go elsewhere for a bigger opportunity, he stayed true. This place is special to him.”
“You can see how he acts toward everybody in the building, how he treats his teammates, and the performance he has.
He's a blessing to be around.”
“An awesome, awesome player and an even better person.
You can see how much he cares today — getting hard yards, explosive yards and finesse plays in the passing game.”
Flora's first touchdown pass covered 46 yards after he caught a lateral from Jaylen Raynor and found Cody Jackson unmarked.
His second scoring pass came on a 2-yard flip to Vince Benetti, giving Iowa State a 21-14 halftime advantage.
Flora later extended the Cyclones' lead with a 24-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter.
Raynor completed 19 of 27 passes for 264 yards, while Jackson caught six passes for 160 yards.
Despite those contributions, Iowa State entered the game ranked last in the Big 12 in total offense, averaging 345.3 yards per game.
Its 577-yard performance was the program's highest in a conference game since gaining 608 yards against Texas Tech in 2016.
Rogers acknowledged that defensive execution remained an issue despite the victory.
“We've got to be able to continuously play cleaner and not get caught up in the score and not relax,” Rogers said.
“I don't want to say we did. We didn't play cleanly in certain areas on the defensive side of ball.”
“We're going to work hard to clean some of these things up — maybe it's mental, maybe it's physical — and try to put the best people on the field to execute.”
West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez criticized his team's defensive performance after another high-scoring defeat.
The Mountaineers had surrendered a combined 1,186 yards against Oklahoma State and Iowa State in consecutive weeks.
They ranked last in the Big 12 in total defense, allowing 456.6 yards per game.
“Two games in a row, atrocious defense,” Rodriguez said.
“They ran hard and got some good players, but I thought we were fixing some of the issues and it didn't look like it.”
“We've got to do a better job. Twenty-nine first downs, 577 yards, two game-winning drives.
All we needed was a stop. Hard to watch.”
Hawkins accounted for two rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns for West Virginia.
He carried the ball 20 times for 149 yards, while Cam Cook also had 20 carries and finished with 142 yards.
Mountaineers linebacker Cam Torbor said the team intended to respond after the loss.
“There's frustration, definitely,” Torbor said. “We're ready to get back at it.
This game's over. We're going to come back harder than before.”
West Virginia is scheduled to host Arizona the following Saturday, while Iowa State will visit No. 10 BYU on Friday.
