Connor Moberly out, Zane Flores backs up Jaylen Raynor

Both players were listed as questionable on the first report. By Thursday night that had changed, and not in the Cyclones' favor.

Bill Seals

@williamseals

Iowa State backup quarterback Connor Moberly, who played the second half of last weekend’s game at Arizona has been downgraded to out for Saturday. Starting DT Bryson Lamb now doubtful. Former Oklahoma State QB Zane Flores will back up Jaylen Raynor.

The Moberly news is the one that matters. He wasn't just a name on the depth chart. He played the second half of last weekend's game at Arizona, so Iowa State has already needed its QB2 this year. Now that QB2 is out, and the next man up has a storyline Hollywood would call too on the nose.

Saturday's opponent is Oklahoma State. Zane Flores started for the Cowboys in 2025 and threw 266 passes for them before transferring to Ames. If Raynor takes a hit and has to come off, Iowa State's season would sit in the hands of a guy who knows the visiting sideline better than anybody else on the roster. That could help him or it could get in his head. Probably both.

The way Flores got here is the funny part. He came in as the experienced transfer and looked like the obvious backup early in spring. Then Moberly figured out Tyler Roehl's offense and closed the gap. Jimmy Rogers said in the spring that over the last 2 weeks the separation between Connor and Zane had really closed, and Moberly ended up winning the job. Now an injury hands it right back to Flores.

Alec Busse

@alec_busse

Some negative developments for Iowa State's availability report. Connor Moberly falls to OUT; Zane Flores would now be QB2 behind Jaylen Raynor. DT Bryson Lamb falls to doubtful, which would create more opportunity for Zaimir Hawk and Bryson Lamb.

The Lamb downgrade gets less attention, but it hurts. He's a starting defensive tackle, and Iowa State's interior was already thin. Oklahoma State's own release had DT Ka'Mori Moore and DE Caden Crawford out for the Cyclones, with DE Trey Verdon questionable. If Lamb can't go, Zaimir Hawk should see a lot more snaps, and Iowa State's depth up front gets tested against an offense that will happily run at a short-handed line.

For Raynor, the job is simple: stay upright. Nobody in Ames wants to find out what a Flores revenge game looks like. Watch who's warming up behind him in the 1st quarter, and watch whether Lamb is in uniform at all. A doubtful tag usually means a guy isn't playing.