Buy Signal · 2026 Week 5
Aiden Flora
RB · Redshirt Sophomore · Iowa State
A former walk-on, now a team captain, named national player of the week by the Associated Press and the Big 12's Offensive Player of the Week after running for 212 yards and three touchdowns and throwing two touchdown passes in Iowa State's 45–42 win over West Virginia. He had 15 carries in his first two seasons; two of his last three games have gone for 194 yards or more. What follows is the week, the season so far, and the schedule ahead of it.
Week 5
Iowa State beat West Virginia 45–42 in Ames, Iowa, October 3, 2026.
22
Carries
212
Rushing yards
3
Rushing TD
2
Passing TD
- Yards per carry
- 9.6
- Longest run
- 63 yds
- Passing
- 2 of 2, 48 yds
- Team total offense
- 577 yds
His first touchdown pass came early in the second quarter with the game tied 7–7: Jaylen Raynor turned and tossed the ball back to him behind the line at the West Virginia 46, and Flora threw it downfield to a wide-open Cody Jackson, who caught it at the 30 and ran it in. The second came with five seconds left in the half — an underhand toss from Raynor, a few steps toward the line, then a stop and a 2-yard floater to tight end Vince Benetti for a 21–14 lead. After West Virginia went ahead 42–38 with 5:04 left, Iowa State drove 74 yards in six plays, and Flora scored from the 2 with 1:57 to play.
The season so far
Through five games, the latest on October 3, 2026.
5
Games
73
Carries
594
Rushing yards
6
Rushing TD
- Yards per carry
- 8.1
- Longest run
- 63 yds
- 100-yard games
- 2 of 5
- National rank, rushing yards
- No. 7 in the FBS
No. 7 in the FBS in rushing yards through 5 games, per CollegeFootballData’s season statistics as read on October 5, 2026.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 5, 2026 | vs Southeast Missouri | W 38–10 | 7 | 45 | 1 | 17 |
| September 12, 2026 | at Iowa | L 13–16 | 19 | 89 | 0 | 34 |
| September 19, 2026 | vs Bowling Green | W 55–7 | 12 | 194 | 2 | 61 |
| September 26, 2026 | vs Utah | L 17–31 | 13 | 54 | 0 | 18 |
| October 3, 2026 | vs West Virginia | W 45–42 | 22 | 212 | 3 | 63 |
Each row is read from that game’s official box score; the season line is the sum of the rows.
The number that stands out
Flora ran for 212 yards. West Virginia outrushed Iowa State anyway, 291 to 265. Everything else Iowa State did on the ground, sacks included, netted 53 yards, and West Virginia's quarterback, Michael Hawkins Jr., ran for 149 by himself. The teams finished with 1,095 yards between them, the fourth-most in an FBS game this season by the Associated Press's count, and West Virginia scored touchdowns on four straight possessions to lead 42–38. Iowa State's answer was six plays and 74 yards, ending with Flora from the 2.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa State | 7 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 45 |
| West Virginia | 7 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
Program history
Named national player of the week by the Associated Press and Offensive Player of the Week by the Big 12 after the West Virginia game, and the Burlsworth Trophy's Walk-On of the Week for the second time this season.
Iowa State Athletics(the school's own site) · October 5, 2026
The ninth FBS player since 1996, and the first from the Big 12, with 200 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns and two touchdown passes in a game, and the first non-quarterback to do it.
Iowa State Athletics(the school's own site) · October 5, 2026
The second running back in Big 12 history with two touchdown passes in a game, after Nebraska's Rex Burkhead in 2010.
Iowa State Athletics(the school's own site) · October 5, 2026
His 296 all-purpose yards against Bowling Green were the most by a Cyclone since Leonard Johnson's 319 against Oklahoma State in 2008.
Associated Press · September 19, 2026
Twice the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week in 2025; his 79-yard punt return to win at TCU was Iowa State's first punt-return touchdown since 2017.
Iowa State Athletics(the school's own site) · November 10, 2025
All-Big 12 second team (coaches) as a specialist in 2025, when he led the conference in punt-return average; a co-captain in 2026.
Iowa State Athletics(the school's own site) · October 5, 2026
Where he comes from
Adel, Iowa
He played quarterback at Adel-De Soto-Minburn, passing for 1,124 yards and 13 touchdowns and running for 1,932 yards and 27 more as a senior in 2023, an all-state season. He chose Iowa State over offers from Air Force and Army and arrived as a walk-on in 2024, appearing in six games while redshirting. After a 2025 season spent mostly returning kicks, he was put on scholarship in January 2026.
What others have written
The Des Moines Register
Iowa State football RB Aiden Flora throws two TD passes in first half
Will Kennedy · Oct 3, 2026
Written at halftime, on how each throw was set up — a toss from Raynor near the sideline on the first, a pitch, a few steps toward the line and a hop back on the second — and what two completions do to a passer rating.
“His quarterback rating at halftime was recorded at 631.6.”
CBS Sports
Shehan Jeyarajah · Oct 4, 2026
Names Flora among the week's winners: one of the few players who stayed through the coaching change, 15 carries in two seasons under Matt Campbell, and a first-year staff that found ways to use him.
“looks like the top breakout player in the Big 12”
The schedule ahead
Opponents, dates and sites as announced, confirmed October 5, 2026.
His two biggest days came against Bowling Green and a West Virginia defense that had given up 609 yards the week before. The schedule ahead asks more.
- October 9, 2026at BYUAway
- October 24, 2026at ArizonaAway
- October 31, 2026vs Oklahoma StateHome
- November 7, 2026at BaylorAway
Game figures are read from the official box score and were checked on October 5, 2026; they are reported figures, not estimates, and this database holds no game or box-score data of its own. Linked articles are the work of the outlets named and are quoted only in brief. This page carries no valuation and is not advice; it describes a single week of play and the schedule as it stood on October 5, 2026.