Eric Morris Not Overlooking Halloween Visit to Iowa State Against Aiden Flora

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STILLWATER — On paper, this is an easy one.

​Oklahoma State’s No. 2 offense, averaging 529 yards per game, against Iowa State’s 108th-ranked offense averaging only 340.

Then there’s the records themselves as the No. 24 Cowboys are 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Big 12 play while the Cyclones (3-4, 1-3 Big 12) haven’t won in almost a month when they survived a 45-42 shootout with West Virginia.

But Eric Morris knows better.

“This will be a tough one,” he said. “And you know, Halloween there. Been to this stadium numerous times. This is one of the hardest places in my opinion to play.”

Oklahoma State has dropped three of the last four games in the series against the Cyclones, two of which came on the road, and all three losses (in 2021, 2023 and 2025) came by seven points or less.

This will be OSU’s first time meeting a Cyclone team led by Jimmy Rogers, who took over this offseason.

“His teams always just get better and better throughout the season, and I think that’s always a great sign of a great coach,” Morris said. “I think they played some really good football this year. Obviously, not the result they wanted last week. I think Arizona’s phenomenal. That quarterback’s phenomenal.

“Just watching him against West Virginia and Utah and all these teams, they’ve played really well at home this year.”

Before getting blown out 39-3 at Arizona over the weekend, Iowa State showed enough fight to lead Iowa, currently the unofficial No. 26 team, most of the fourth quarter in a 3-point loss. The Cyclones then bookended the victory over the Mountaineers by hanging with current No. 6 Utah and No. 8 BYU thanks to fourth-quarter scores. Iowa State cut its deficit in those games to seven and 11 points, respectively, before finally running out of gas.

The main Cyclone to know is running back Aiden Flora, who ranks fifth nationally in yards per carry (seven) and 16th in rushing yards per game (102). He’s not much of a pass catcher, only 80 yards and no scores, but he is 2-of-2 throwing the ball for 48 yards and a pair of scores.

“Phenomenal football player,” Morris said. “Can just tell his toughness. They trust him in so many different ways.

“He’s throwing passes, they pitch it to him, he throws it, he runs it, he’s the punt returner. He just has so many roles on this team. I think mid-season All-American for a reason. A guy that has definitely produced at a high level. He’s one of those guys, the heartbeat of a team. Somebody that has the attitude of like a (Cam) Skattebo or somebody like that that just brings so much toughness to them.”