The Iowa State Cyclones were mired in a brutal slump over the last few weeks. After starting the season 5-0, they had lost four consecutive games, sending their season into an ugly spiral.

Heading into their Week 11 matchup against the TCU Horned Frogs, expectations were very low. It is hard to blame any fans who weren’t bullish on their chances of winning, especially with their recent form.

However, the Cyclones overcame the odds, picking up an impressive come-from-behind victory. Trailing 20-6 in the fourth quarter with 13:30 remaining in the game, Iowa State scored the final two touchdowns of the game to win 20-17.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Cyclones ultimately ended their four-game losing streak, becoming bowl eligible in the process. There were a few standout performers in the game, but linebacker Kooper Ebel really stood out.

One of the best players on the team, head coach Matt Campbell had nothing but praise for his junior linebacker’s performance against TCU.

“If you’d been missing Kooper Ebel the last four weeks, I don’t know if there’s a better defensive player in the Big 12 right now than him,” Campbell said, via Alec Busse of Cyclone Alert, part of the 247Sports Network (subscription required). “He’s playing with an elite accelerated vision. He’s playing with unbelievable toughness. He leads. He never comes out of the game. When you need to make a play, that guy is there to make a play.”

Ebel led the team with 11 combined tackles on Saturday afternoon, including one tackle for loss. He helps set the tone for the Iowa State defense, being all over the field, making plays, whether it is against the run or the pass.

There are a lot of great defensive players in the Big 12, so Campbell’s calling his linebacker the best player on that side of the ball in the conference is major praise.

In the nine games heading into the matchup with the Horned Frogs, Ebel had recorded 51 total tackles, 4.0 of which were for a loss, with 1.0 sacks and one pass defended.

He is second on the team in tackles, behind only safety Marcus Neal, who has 70. His 5.0 tackles for loss are the third most, behind only Neal, with 9.0, and fellow linebacker Caleb Bacon, who has 6.5.

Ebel is one of seven players with at least one full sack for the Cyclones’ defense this year, and one of six with a forced fumble, as well.

That kind of production has been crucial to Iowa State’s success on that side of the ball this year.

A former Iowa high school football standout played a major role in helping Iowa State football end a tough losing skid.

Aiden Flora, who shined in several different ways at ADM High School, returned a punt 79 yards Saturday for the game-winning points in a much-needed 20-17 victory for the Cyclones at TCU.

With the win, Iowa State snapped a four-game losing skid and improved to 6-4 on the season.

After the Cyclones had cut the deficit from 17-6 to 17-12 on a short touchdown run by Carson Hansen, the defense – playing with several key starters – forced a quick three-and-out by the Horned Frogs.

From there, Flora took over the game, darting his way to the end zone on the ensuing punt with Hansen adding the two-point conversion for the final score.

Flora, a redshirt freshman who is listed as a running back on the official Iowa State roster, has already been named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week once this year.

As a true freshman for Iowa State last season, Flora saw action in six games. The walk-on ran 11 times for 53 yards with a touchdown, adding a six-yard receptions. He scored his rushing touchdown against Arkansas State and had a key 12-yard run and six-yard catch in the Pop-Tarts Bowl win over Miami.

While guiding ADM to success at the high school ranks in Iowa, Flora was a dual-threat, throwing for 1,124 yards and rushing for 1,932 during his senior season, helping the Tigers reach the Class 4A Iowa high school football state playoff quarterfinals. He threw 13 touchdown passes and ran in 27, earning multiple all-state honors in the process.

Flora racked up 1,773 yards passing with 19 touchdowns and ran for 1,662 yards and 17 more scores during his junior season. He averaged over 11 yards per carry that year. As a sophomore, he had 212 yards rushing and caught 10 passes for 108 yards with five total touchdowns.

Flora selected the Cyclones over offers from Air Force and Army.

Iowa State has a week off before returning home to host Kansas on Saturday, November 22. They conclude the regular season the following weekend at Oklahoma State.

The win over TCU has the Cyclones bowl eligible for a third consecutive season, the first time that has happened since 2017-19.