Columbus, OH -- Scott McMullen filled in for an injured Craig Krenzel and threw for 118 yards and a touchdown, as fifth-ranked Ohio State defeated Bowling Green, 24-17, at Ohio Stadium.

McMullen completed 10-of-16 passes and was picked off once. Lydell Ross rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries for Ohio State (4-0), which extended the nation's longest current winning streak to 18 games. Maurice Hall chipped in 107 yards on the ground on 19 attempts, as the Buckeyes finally got the running game going without the suspended Maurice Clarett.

Krenzel missed the contest because of a strained elbow. Krenzel suffered the injury in the second quarter of last Saturday's triple-overtime victory over North Carolina State when he was hit while throwing a pass.

Falcons' quarterback Josh Harris was 33-of-54 for 326 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Cole Magner caught 13 passes for 168 yards and a TD for Bowling Green (3-1), which suffered its first loss of the season.

The Buckeyes grabbed a 7-0 lead with 6:04 left in the first quarter when McMullen tossed a seven-yard TD pass to Drew Carter on a 3rd-and-goal play. The short 29-yard drive came as a result of Dustin Fox's interception of a Harris pass.

The Falcons answered with a 13-play, 87-yard scoring drive. Harris was 8-of-9 for 72 yards on the series and capped it with a seven-yard TD pass to Cornelius McGrady.

On the next possession for Ohio State, Hall fumbled and the ball was recovered by Bowling Green's Will Teague at his own 40-yard line. However, the Falcons couldn't capitalize and punted back to the Buckeyes.

Early in the second quarter, Harris was sacked and lost control of the ball. Ohio State's Simon Fraser recovered the fumble at the Falcons' 21-yard line. The Buckeyes' offense then struggled on the next series and had to settle for a 47-yard field goal by Mike Nugent, making it 10-7 in favor of Ohio State with 10:09 remaining in the period.

The Buckeyes increased their lead to 17-7 on a 33-yard touchdown run by Ross with 2:17 left in the first half.

Ohio State had the ball to begin the second half, but Janssen Patton intercepted a McMullen pass on the third play from scrimmage and returned the ball 38 yards to the Buckeyes' 23-yard line.

The Falcons then tried a trick play, as Harris tossed the ball to wide receiver Magner in the backfield. Magner then threw a pass to an open Craig Jarrett at the goal line, but the tight end dropped the ball. On the next play, Harris had a pass deflected and then picked off by A.J. Hawk.

Later in the third quarter, Ohio State faced a 4th-and-2 at the Bowling Green 23-yard line. The Buckeyes elected to go for a first down, but Hall was stopped short and the Falcons took over.

After a series of punts, the Buckeyes marched 76 yards for a score with Ross capping the six-play drive with a three-yard touchdown run. The key play of the series was a 46-yard connection from McMullen to Michael Jenkins that moved the ball to the Bowling Green 17-yard line.

The Falcons answered with a touchdown on their next possession to pull within 24-14 with 3:25 remaining. Magner caught a 25-yard scoring pass from Harris.

Bowling Green then successfully executed an onside kick and took over at the Ohio State 44-yard line. Six plays later, Shaun Suisham booted a 33-yard field goal to cut the deficit to seven points with 1:46 left.

The Falcons were again forced to try an onside kick, but Ben Hartsock fell on the ball for Ohio State.

The Buckeyes were unable to pick up a first down and punted back to Bowling Green. The Falcons were able to reach the Buckeyes' 47-yard line, before Harris had a pass intercepted by Will Allen in the closing seconds.