COLUMBUS, Ohio — Despite its imperfect play, Ohio State is still unbeaten on the season.
Braxton Miller ran for two touchdowns and No. 16 Ohio State overcame a lethargic, mistake-filled and enigmatic effort to hold off Alabama-Birmingham 29-15 on Saturday.
Coach Urban Meyer narrowed the problems to “offense, defense and special teams,” expressed his disappointment and said his players have to get dramatically better before opening Big Ten play at No. 21 Michigan State.
Alabama-Birmingham (0-3) more than held its own against the Buckeyes (4-0), who committed drive-killing penalties, had a punt blocked for a touchdown and had trouble scoring against a defense that gave up 44 points and 477 yards in its first two games.
Miller completed 12 of 20 passes for 143 yards and rushed for 64 yards on 11 carries. Jordan Hall gained 105 yards on 17 carries.
In other game involving Big Ten teams, Central Michigan’s David Harman drilled a 47-yard field goal with three seconds left, and the Chippewas (2-1) scored nine points in the final 45 seconds and stunned Iowa (2-2) 32-31 in Iowa City, Iowa. ... James White rushed for two touchdowns, helping Wisconsin (3-1) overcome the early loss of Montee Ball in a 37-26 victory over Texas-El Paso (1-3) in Madison, Wis. ... Le’Veon Bell rushed for a career-high 253 yards and a touchdown to help stagnant Michigan State (3-1) avoid a major upset with a 23-7 victory over Eastern Michigan (0-4) in East Lansing, Mich. ... Rex Burkhead ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns and No. 25 Nebraska (3-1) made quick work of Idaho State (1-2) in a 73-7 victory in Lincoln, Neb. ... Venric Mark ran for 117 yards and three touchdowns to lead Northwestern (4-0) to a 38-7 victory over South Dakota (1-2) in Evanston, Ill. ... Matt McGloin threw for a careerhigh 318 yards and ran for two short scores, and linebacker Michael Mauti led another strong defensive effort to lead Penn State (2-2) to a 24-13 victory over Temple (1-2) in State College, Pa. ... Donnell Kirkwood rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns for Minnesota (4-0) in a 17-10 victory over Syracuse (1-3) in Minneapolis. ... Louisiana Tech (3-0) turned six Illinois turnovers and four touchdown passes from quarterback Colby Cameron into a 52-24 road upset of Illinois (2-2) in Champaign, Ill.
MID-AMERICAN
Ball State rallies
MUNCIE, Ind. — Keith Wenning connected with Willie Snead for a 19-yard touchdown pass with 1:02 left as Ball State rallied to beat South Florida 31-27 on Saturday.
Snead, who finished with 11 catches for 135 yards, caught the winner in the back corner of the end zone for the Cardinals (3-1).
Wenning was 24 of 36 for 244 yards passing with 2 touchdowns and ran for a score. Jahwan Edwards ran 98 yards on 16 carries and 1 touchdown for the Cardinals.
South Florida (2-2) lost its second in a row despite Daniels’ efforts. He threw three touchdown passes and led the Bulls in rushing with 75 yards.
In other games involving Mid-American teams, Northern Illinois (3-1) rallied from a 23-13 fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Kansas (1-3) 30-23 in DeKalb, Ill. ... Derrius Vick, making his first start at quarterback for Ohio (4-0), passed for four touchdowns in leading the Bobcats to a 44-10 rout against Norfolk State (2-2) in Athens, Ohio. ... Zac Dysert threw for three touchdowns and became the career completions leader for Miami (Ohio) (2-2, 1-0) as the RedHawks spoiled the debut of Massachusetts (0-4, 0-1) in the MAC by winning 27-16 in Oxford, Ohio. ... Alex Carder threw for 237 yards and a touchdown to lead Western Michigan (2-2) to a 30-24 victory over Connecticut (2-2) in Kalamazoo, Mich. ... Terrance Owens passed for 290 yards and three touchdowns, and host Toledo beat Coastal Carolina 38-28. The Rockets (3-1) won their third in a row.
Sports, Pages 36 on 09/23/2012