SAN DIEGO — Ronnie Hillman ran for 191 yards and four touchdowns to lead San Diego State to a 3-0 record for the first time in 30 years with a 42-24 win over Washington State on Saturday.
Hillman scored on runs of 13 and 12 yards in the first half before scoring on a 1-yard dash to give San Diego State a 28-24 lead nearly five minutes into the fourth quarter. Hillman then added a 59-yard TD run at the 7:26 mark.
The last Hillman touchdown came one play after linebacker Rob Andrews recovered a fumble by Washington State quarterback Marshall Lobbestael at the 36-yard line with 7:36 left.
Lobbestael threw touchdown passes of 80 and 78 yards to Marquess Wilson for Washington State (2-1). Lobbestael, who took over for injured starter Jeff Tuel in the first game of the season, completed 20 of 42 passes for 368 yards with three TDs and two interceptions.
All of Loebbestael’s turnovers came in the final 7 1/2 minutes of the game.
The win snapped the Aztecs’ 19-game losing streak against Pac-12 schools.
Hillman, a sophomore, ran 32 times as he scored four rushing touchdowns for the second time in his career. Hillman, who came into the game as the second-leading rusher at a clip of 153 yards per game, has scored 14 touchdowns in his last six games, contributing to 500 yards of total offense for the Aztecs on the day.
Ryan Lindley threw for 273 yards, but also committed the first two San Diego State turnovers this season with an interception and later fumbling a snap out of the shotgun formation at the Cougars 16-yard line.
The Cougars, the nation’s highest-scoring team at 61.5 points per game, scored on its first play from scrimmage, an 80-yard pass to Wilson. Lobbestael later hit Wilson on a 78-yard scoring pass to give Washington State a 24-14 lead early in the third quarter.
Lindley passed the 10,000-yard career passing mark with a second-quarter completion. Lindley is second in school history to Todd Santos, who threw for 11,425 yards.
Lindley has thrown touchdown passes in 13 straight games, but his lone interception broke a string of 112 pass attempts without one.
After the Cougars scored on their first play from scrimmage, San Diego State responded with a score on a 13-yard run by Hillman. Washington State took a 10-7 lead on Andrew Furney’s 48-yard field goal.
The Aztecs then went 76 yards in 13 plays with Hillman scoring on a 12-yard run at the end of the first quarter.
It was the seventh straight game that San Diego State scored at least 14 points in the first quarter.
Lobbestael gave Washington State a 17-14 halftime lead after a 23-yard TD pass to Isiah Barton.
