Aiden Flora threw two touchdown passes and ran for three more scores, including the go-ahead 2-yard touchdown run with 1:57 remaining, as Iowa State (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) defeated West Virginia (3-2, 0-2) 45-42 in a Homecoming thriller on Saturday.
West Virginia won the opening coin toss and deferred to the second half. Iowa State received the opening kickoff and began its first possession at its own 10-yard line, stringing together three consecutive rushes of 11, eight, and five yards before an incompletion,
a 4-yard loss, and a third-and-14 incompletion forced a 33-yard punt. Taking over at its own 37, West Virginia gained 29 yards on its first four plays, but a holding penalty, a tackle for loss by Drew Surges, and an illegal shift resulted in a third-and-26, leading to a punt after a 3-yard gain.
After Flora fair caught a punt at the Iowa State 7-yard line, the Cyclones drove out following carries by Ryver Peppers and a 7-yard reception by Ty Claiborne. Following a 38-yard punt by DuPont and a 22-yard return to the Iowa State 31, West Virginia struck first.
On third-and-12 from the 33-yard line, Michael Hawkins Jr. connected with Cyrus Traugh in the back of the end zone for a touchdown to give the Mountaineers a 7-0 lead with 6:53 left in the first quarter.
Iowa State responded late in the quarter, tying the game 7-7 with 2:31 remaining on a drive highlighted by a 15-yard rush from Peppers, an 11-yard catch by Dominic Overby and a 20-yard touchdown completion to Omari Hayes, capped by a PAT from Dubuque native Kyle Konrardy.
The Cyclones took their first lead at 11:04 of the second quarter when Flora, a former high school quarterback at ADM, connected with Cody Jackson on a 46-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-7. Former West Virginia redshirt Keyon Washington sacked Hawkins Jr. on the next possession, but an illegal formation penalty on a Mountaineer punt gave West Virginia favorable position at the Iowa State 19-yard line. Hawkins Jr. then capped a drive in which West Virginia averaged 10 yards per carry with an 8-yard touchdown run, tying the game 14-14 with 6:12 left in the half.
Following an exchange of three-and-outs, Iowa State took over at its own 31-yard line with 2:23 remaining in the half. Overby moved the sticks twice with receptions of 18 and 31 yards and drew a pass interference penalty to set up the Cyclones. With five seconds remaining in the second quarter, the ADM tandem connected again as Flora flipped a 2-yard touchdown pass to Vince Benetti, giving Iowa State a 21-14 lead at halftime.
After forcing a West Virginia three-and-out to open the third quarter, Iowa State took over on its 26-yard line and averaged 18.5 yards per play on a scoring drive capped by a 24-yard touchdown run from Flora, extending the lead to 28-14 at 12:15 of the third quarter.
Cyclone defender Malaki Ta’ase recovered a fumble following a strip-sack of Hawkins Jr., but an interception halted Iowa State’s momentum. West Virginia capitalized when a 37-yard rush on fourth-and-1 kept its drive alive, setting up a 7-yard touchdown run by Hawkins Jr. to pull within 28-21 with 5:43 left in the third quarter. After Iowa State’s next drive stalled in a touchback punt by Gurney, West Virginia tied the game 28-28 just 66 seconds later on a 9-yard touchdown rush by Cam Cook with 1:07 left in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter produced a relentless exchange of leads. Jackson kept Iowa State’s opening drive of the final period alive with a 43-yard reception, setting up a 35-yard field goal by Konrardy to put the Cyclones ahead 31-28 with 10:45 remaining. Cook answered for West Virginia with an 8-yard touchdown run up the middle to give the visitors a 35-31 lead with 7:34 left. Flora countered for Iowa State with an explosive 63-yard touchdown run to reclaim a 38-35 lead with 6:08 remaining.
West Virginia answered in just three plays when Hawkins Jr. hit DJ Epps on a 47-yard touchdown pass, with Cassidy’s PAT putting the Mountaineers ahead 42-38 with 5:04 left.
On Iowa State’s final drive, a defensive pass interference penalty set up second-and-goal at the West Virginia 2-yard line with two minutes to play. Flora punched in a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:57 remaining, and Konrardy converted the PAT to put Iowa State ahead 45-42. Flora sealed the victory by gaining 11 yards for a first down with 29 seconds remaining, securing the Homecoming win.
