A star-studded running back matchup won’t come to fruition Friday night when No. 8 BYU faces Iowa State in Big 12 play at Provo, Utah.
Cougars running back LJ Martin was ruled out Tuesday after injuring his lower right leg in last weekend’s 17-10 victory at TCU. The reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year is averaging 7.8 yards per carry while rushing for 344 yards and three touchdowns.
BYU (4-0, 2-0 Big 12) hasn’t divulged specifics regarding Martin’s injury. No. 2 running back Sione Moa remains out with a knee injury suffered Week 1.
“It’s not ideal going into games with having your first and second running back be out,” Cougars coach Kalani Sitake said. “But we feel like we’ve narrowed the gap quite a bit from one to two to three, and then we have a committee of guys who can do it.”
Cyclones halfback Aiden Flora stands as the premier back in the battle between Iowa State (3-2, 1-1) and BYU despite the Cougars looking to start 5-0 for a third straight season for the first time in program history.
Flora is averaging 8.1 yards per carry and has rushed for 594 yards and six touchdowns. He ranks seven nationally in rushing yards and also has returned a punt for a score.
During last weekend’s 45-42 home victory over West Virginia, Flora rushed for career bests of 212 yards and three touchdowns, and the former high school quarterback also threw two scoring passes off halfback tosses. His final rushing score was a 2-yard go-ahead tally with 1:57 remaining to give Iowa State the lead.
A walk-on the past two seasons, Flora has emerged under first-year coach Jimmy Rogers.
Flora carried the ball just 15 times over his first two seasons — and only had four carries in 2025. But he remained in Ames after many players followed former coach Matt Campbell to Penn State. Overall, 78 of 121 players exited the program.
At the same time, Rogers added 83 new players to the Iowa State roster after coming over from Washington State.
“The first thing we did here was put him on scholarship and secure he was coming back,” Rogers said of Flora. “When others looked to go elsewhere for a bigger opportunity, he stayed true. This place is special to him.
“You can see how he acts toward everybody in the building, how he treats his teammates, and the performance he has. He’s a blessing to be around.”
Cyclones quarterback Jaylen Raynor has passed for 903 yards and six touchdowns against four interceptions.
Defensively, linebacker Sullivan Schlimgen paces Iowa State with 46 tackles.
With Martin sidelined, Preston Rex (94 yards on 18 carries) is expected to be the main ball carrier with Journee Tonga (157 yards on 19 carries) and Devaughn Elka (87 yards on 12 carries) also factoring in.
Rex, a former safety, said he’s ready for a bigger role.
“Yeah, LJ is the best back in the Big 12, so it’s gonna hurt any team when someone like that goes down,” Rex told reporters. “Journee is really good in between the tackles. I feel like I am a change-of-pace guy. We got the talent. It is our time to step up.”
Quarterback Bear Bachmeier rushed for two touchdowns against TCU and has a team-leading four on the season. Bachmeier has passed for 704 yards, six touchdowns and one interception.
BYU notched a 41-27 road victory over Iowa State last season when Bachmeier passed for 307 yards and two touchdowns and safety Faletau Satuala returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown. It was the first time the Cougars defeated the Cyclones in six all-time meetings.
Satuala also had a key interception in the win over TCU.