In what was a pivotal game for the Iowa State Cyclones coming into the week, the matchup between them and the West Virginia Mountaineers did not disappoint. 

Following a loss to the Utah Utes, this was an important game for the Cyclones, who entered the matchup 2-2 overall, but 0-1 in the Big 12. 

Despite the desire to get off to a strong start, it was West Virginia who struck first in this game. The Mountaineers were able to score a touchdown on a 33-yard pass from Michael Hawkins to Cyrus Traugh.  

Iowa State was able to answer that score with one of their own right before the end of the first quarter. Jaylen Raynor got his first touchdown of the day on a pass to Omari Hayes, which capped off an impressive nine-play, 75-yard drive. 

Following that score, it would be the Cyclones who struck next again. On a little bit of trickery, Aiden Flora threw a touchdown pass to Cody Jackson to give Iowa State a 14-7 lead. 

Shootou Gets Going

In a game that had a see-saw feel to it, Hawkins and the Mountaineers would respond. The talented dual-threat quarterback took it eight yards on the ground for the score. 

After a costly penalty that extended the Cyclones’ drive, it would be Flora with his second passing touchdown of the day just before halftime. This gave the Cyclones a nice touchdown lead entering the break, and things were going well. 

Coming out of halftime, Iowa State was able to make it a two-score game with Flora scoring on the ground this time in a 23-yard scamper. 

While things were looking good up to that point, West Virginia mounted a comeback. The Mountaineers would score two touchdowns unanswered to tie the game at 28-28 going into the fourth quarter. 

To start the fourth, the Cyclones would have a 10-play 59-yard drive stall out and had to settle for the first field goal of the day. The lead for the Cyclones would disappear quickly with a West Virginia score coming just three minutes later. 

However, credit must go to Iowa State for having another response. Flora continued his fantastic game with a 63-yard run to give the Cyclones a 38-35 lead in a game that turned into a shootout.  As expected with how this game was going, the Iowa State defense was not able to slow down the offense of the Mountaineers and they score a touchdown in just 1:04 on a 47-yard pass to DJ Epps.

With neither defense being able to do anything to slowdown the opposing offense, it was Flora with his 5th touchdown of the day that would give the Cyclones the 45-42 lead. While the defense might have struggled in the fourth quarter, they were finally able to make a stop with less than a minute to seal the game. After getting a first down on a 4th and 11, Epps was stripped and fumbled to end the game.

Overall, this game was a great one and it is a big win for the Iowa State football program.