COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Michael Wiley scored two touchdowns and Steve Bellisari hit Ken-Yon Rambo with two scoring passes as Ohio State (No. 12 ESPN/USA Today, No. 13 AP) overcame a sluggish first half to roll over Ohio 40-16 Saturday.

Ohio State (2-1) hasn't lost to an in-state college since falling to Oberlin 7-6 in 1921. The Buckeyes have never lost to another Ohio college in Ohio Stadium's 78 years.

Yet the Buckeyes almost lulled a crowd of 93,222 to sleep with lethargic play in the opening half.

A 43-point underdog, Ohio (0-3), which lost to Division I-AA Northern Iowa at home last week, held a 10-3 lead late in the second quarter after Chad Brinker's 3-yard run.

That in itself was a victory. The Bobcats and Buckeyes had met four times from 1899-1902, with Ohio State winning by a combined 95-0.

The option-oriented Bobcats almost maintained their lead into the second half, except for a controversial call.

With the partisan Ohio State crowd sitting in bemusement if not stunned silence, the Buckeyes took over at their 34 late in the half.

Bellisari's pass to Ken-Yon Rambo gave the Buckeyes a 23-yard gain to the Ohio 20 before the ball squirted out of Rambo's hands. The officials conferred before ruling Rambo's knee was down when he lost control of the ball. TV replays were inconclusive.

Three plays later, Bellisari connected with the diving Rambo for a 15-yard touchdown. Dan Stultz, who had earlier kicked a 31-yard field goal, added the extra point that gave Ohio State a halftime tie.

The Buckeyes took control in the third quarter, scoring three times in four offensive plays.

Bellisari's 36-yard pass to Rambo and a 13-yarder to Vaness Provitt set up Wiley's 1-yard touchdown dive for a 17-10 lead the first time Ohio State got the ball on offense.

Ohio gained one yard on its next three plays after the kickoff. On fourth-and-9 at the 24, Ohio coach Jim Grobe had Dave Zastudil run out of punt formation but he was swamped by Tony Locke for a 9-yard loss.

Wiley then broke two tackles on the next play to put the Buckeyes ahead 24-10.

Zastudil did punt the next time Ohio got the ball and this time Bellisari found Rambo for a 68-yard touchdown.

Ohio's 17-year-old freshman quarterback, Dontrell Jackson, went down with what a trainer called a strained right shoulder. He spent most of the second half on the sidelines, a bag of ice taped to his shoulder.

Jamel Patterson scored for Ohio on a 10-yard run and Derek Combs closed the scoring for Ohio State on a 15-yard run with a minute left.

The Ohio game is part of a 13-game series between 1992 and 2006 between Ohio State and the other Division I-A schools in the state. In the first three games of the series, the Buckeyes outscored Bowling Green (in two games) and Toledo 110-19.