COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It doesn't take much to satisfy Ohio State Coach John Cooper this days.
'We're happy to get out of here with a victory,' Cooper said Saturday after the Buckeyes slipped by Bowling Green 17-6. 'Some people might not be impressed with that, but I'll take it any time we can.'
A week ago, Ohio State edged underdog Louisville 20-19 when the Cardinals missed on a two-point conversion attempt with less than a minute to play, then had a successful Louisville onside kick called back.
'I thought we rebounded and played a lot better defensively than we did last week,' Cooper said after the first game in 58 years the Buckeyes have played against another Ohio team. 'But offensively, we have a long way to go.'
Raymont Harris, who sat out last week's game while still recovering from a preseason ankle injury, provided much of what offense Ohio State did muster against the fired-up Bowling Green defense.
Harris entered the game with Ohio State down 6-0. Following a brief skirmish that resulted in the ejection of Ohio State's Brent Johnson and Bowling Green's Bob Dudley, Harris triggered the Buckeyes' first scoring drive.
Harris ran for 42 yards in five carries to the Bowling Green 1. Twice, however, he was stopped for no gain before freshman Eddie George dove in for the score.
'Raymont Harris is a physical football player,' Cooper said of the 6-foot-2, 225-pound junior, who had earned the No. 1 job before being injured.
Harris, who finished with 94 yards in 18 carries, scored Ohio State's other touchdown on a 7-yard run in the third quarter. Earlier in the period, Tim Williams had kicked a 47-yard field goal.
The Ohio State offense wasn't helped any when quarterback Kirk Herbstreit suffered an ankle sprain on Ohio State's sixth offensive play. He was replaced temporarily by freshman Bob Hoying.
Hoying then had a pass intercepted on the Ohio State 22 by Bowling Green's Joe Bair to set up the Falcons' only score, a 9-yard run by White on a quarterback draw.
Herbstreit returned later in the second quarter and played until late in the game.
Bowling Green, coached by former Cooper assistant Gary Blackney, won the statistical battle with 277 total yards to 237 for the Buckeyes. The Falcons got most of their yards through the air with 191, while Ohio State had 176 of its total on the ground.
The Mid-American Conference Falcons, however, turned the ball over six times, four on pass interceptions and two on fumbles.
Marlon Kerner, who picked off two White passes for Ohio State, returned one of them to the Falcons 5 midway through the first quarter. But the Buckeyes came away empty-handed when Williams missed a 21-yard field goal.
'I've never been prouder of a foootball team than I was of this team this afternoon,' Blackney said. 'But you can't make as many mistakes as we made against an outstanding football team.'
