Explosive First Half Carries Iowa State to 41-13 Win Over Cincinnati

Saturday, November 14

Ames, Iowa

11:00 AM

Iowa State

5-5 , 3-4

Cincinnati

5-5 , 2-5

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Cincinnati	7	6	0	0	13
Iowa State	21	10	0	10	41

11.14.2026 | Football

Box Score Highlights Rogers Post-Game Photo Gallery

AMES, Iowa – Another monster game from Aiden Flora has moved Iowa State to within one game of bowl eligibility.

Flora topped 200 yards for the third time this season, tacked on yardage throwing and catching the ball and scored three touchdowns in leading the Cyclones past Cincinnati (5-5, 2-5 Big 12) 41-13 on a crisp sunny Saturday at MidAmerican Energy Field at Jack Trice Stadium.

The former walk-on from Adel showed off his all-around skills for a TNT television audience and a stadium crowd of 50,162 as Iowa State squared its record at 5-5 and improved to 3-4 in the Big 12.

He carried 28 times for 216 yards, piling up 161 yards in the first half alone. He broke loose on a 77-yard touchdown run, the longest of his career, and added scoring runs of 11 and 5 yards – all in the first quarter. The sophomore speedster also caught a team-best four passes for 38 yards, including a diving grab on fourth down to keep a possession alive. And if that's not enough, he completed a 37-yard pass to set up his 5-yard TD run.

In all, he accounted for 291 of the Cyclones 551 total yards. Quarterback Jaylen Raynor also was productive, completing 14 of 23 passes for 229 yards, including a 70-yard hookup with Cameron Pettaway. Iowa State amassed 356 yards in the first half alone, scoring on its first five possessions to open a 31-7 lead.

Flora ran his season total to 1,335 yards and passed 12 former players to move up to No. 8 on Iowa State's single-season rushing list with at least two games left. He trails No. 7 Mike Warren by 4 yards. He now has the top three single-game rushing totals in the Big 12 this season.

The ISU defense did its part, too, recovering two fumbles and coming up with four sacks, the most against a Big 12 opponent this season. That unit was set back on its heels when Cincinnati's outstanding running back, Cole Tabb, sprinted 66 yards down the right sideline on the game's second play and the Bearcats scored on the next play, a 4-yard toss from JC French to Lyviel Waters.

But the Bearcats didn't score again until Iowa State had run off 31 straight points and the Cyclones blanked them in the second half.

ISU answered Cincinnati's early score with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that Flora capped with his 11 yard run. He burst through a hole in the middle, then cut to his right and found a clear path to the end zone.

The defense forced a quick three-and-out and the Cyclones needed only two plays and 52 seconds to score from their own 19. Flora gained 4 yards, then burst through the middle, swerved right and outran the pursuit 77 yards for a 14-7 lead.

A fourth-down stop set the ISU offense up at midfield and they scored in five plays. On fourth-and-3 from the Cincinnati 42, Flora faked a dive into the line, stopped and dumped a pass to Vince Benetti, who took the ball all the way to the 5. Flora took it in on the next play for his third TD of the first quarter and 13^th of the season.

The defense forced another three-and-out late in the quarter and on the first play of the second quarter, Raynor was under pressure when he flipped a pass to Pettaway, who was behind the line of scrimmage. Pettaway zipped through four defenders and outran everyone to the end zone on a 70-yard play that made it 28-7. Kyle Konrardy's 22-yard field goal increased the led to 31-7 midway through the quarter.

Cincinnati finally got back on the board when Cade Wolford threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to French at the end of a double reverse with 2:13 left in the half.

The Bearcats threatened a couple of times in the second half, but the Cyclones stopped them by knocking the ball loose. Jace Gilbert forced a fumble on French in ISU territory in the third quarter and Max Baloun pounced on the ball for the Cyclones.

Cincinnati was at the ISU 38 in the fourth quarter when Baloun sacked French, knocked the ball out and Zaimir Hawk recovered for the Cyclones. That led to a 24-yard Konrardy field goal, stretching the lead to 34-13. Arnold Barnes III topped off the victory with a 32-yard touchdown burst with 1:40 left.

Iowa State hits the road for its next game, playing at UCF at 5 p.m. on Saturday before hosting Kansas State in the regular-season finale on Nov. 28. FS1 will television the UCF game.