LAS VEGAS (AP) — Hajj-Malik Williams threw a touchdown pass and ran for two more TDs Saturday night to help UNLV beat San Diego State 41-20
Williams finished 20-of-29 passing for 244 yards and ran for touchdowns of 12 and 7 yards.
Williams threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Kaleo Ballungay to open the scoring with 4:05 left in the first quarter, Greg Burrell capped a nine-play, 70-yard drive with a 20-yard TD run early in the second quarter and Jai’Den Thomas ran for a 4-yard touchdown to give UNLV a 21-0 lead with 9:20 to go in the first half.
Danny O’Neil threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Louis Brown IV but couldn't connect with Michael Harrison on the 2-point try and San Diego State trailed 21-6 with 3:25 left in the second quarter. The Aztecs defense forced a punt, but Jalen Catalon picked off a pass from O'Neil to give UNLV (7-2, 3-1) possession at its own 47 and six plays later Williams scrambled for a 12-yard TD to make it 28-6 at halftime.
San Diego State went three-and-out on the first possession of the second half before Williams capped an eight-play, 73-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run. Ja’Shaun Poke answered with a 46-yard scoring reception — the West Virginia transfer's first TD for the Aztecs — a little more than a minute later but Caden Chittenden's 46-yard field goal made it 38-13 going into the fourth quarter.
O'Neil's quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal from the 1 for San Diego State (3-7, 2-3) made it 38-20 with 13:46 to play.
With the loss, the Aztecs will fall short of winning six games to be bowl eligible for a second straight year.
They have two games remaining in the 2024 season: Saturday against Utah State in Logan, Utah and November 30 against Air Force at Snapdragon Stadium.
