Hilliard Shatters Rushing Record in LSU’s 35-15 Win

Dalton Hilliard ran for 170 yards and three touchdowns Saturday night to become Louisiana State’s all-time rushing leader and spark the 12th-ranked Tigers to a 35-15 victory over East Carolina.

The victory gave LSU a 9-1-1 record as it heads into the Liberty Bowl against Baylor on Dec. 27. East Carolina dropped its ninth straight game and finished 2-9.

Hilliard finished his regular-season career with 4,050 yards rushing, topping the mark of 4,035 set by Charles Alexander. It was the third-highest single-game total of Hilliard’s career and marked the 20th time he rushed for 100 or more yards in a game.

Hilliard also became the fourth Southeastern Conference back to run for more than 4,000 yards. Only Alexander, Herschel Walker of Georgia and Bo Jackson of Auburn had ever totalled more than 4,000 yards in their SEC careers.

Hilliard, who had touchdown runs of 5 and 3 yards in the first half, scored for the third time on a 15-yard romp midway through the third quarter.

Quarterback Jeff Wickersham, who completed 16 of 23 passes for 159 yards, hit tight end Mitch Andrews on a seven-yard touchdown pass and kept the ball on a sweep to score on a two-yard run.

East Carolina’s scores came on three field goals by Jeff Heath and an 80-yard interception return by Kevin Walker. It was Walker’s ninth interception of the year, tying him with Tennessee’s Chris White for the national lead in that category.