Troy Smith threw three touchdown passes, including a 57-yard bomb to Ted Ginn Jr. in the fourth quarter, to lead top-ranked Ohio State to a 35-7 victory over Bowling Green in a nonconference football game this afternoon in Ohio Stadium.

The win came at a cost. Starting right tackle Kirk Barton went out on the first possession with a possible sprained left ankle, and starting defensive tackle David Patterson was helped off in the second quarter with an undisclosed injury to his right leg. Neither player returned to the game.

On a cloudless day with temperatures in the 60s, Smith -- considered the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy going into the weekend -- completed 17 of 20 passes for 191 yards. He also had a dazzling 34-yard scramble, his longest run of the season, to keep alive a first-half scoring drive.

Ginn had had a career-high 10 catches for 122 yards. On the TD, he raced past BG cornerback Antonio Smith down the right sideline and kept right on going to catch up with the Smith pass, which was in the air for 61 yards. Ginn had set up the score by returning the only punt kicked to him all day 21 yards to the OSU 47.

His TD put a cap on an OSU scoring day that included two first-half touchdowns from tailback Antonio Pittman, who has scored at least one touchdown in 11 straight games. He helped the Buckeyes move to a 21-0 lead by 12:13 of the second quarter.

Helping that first-half surge by the Buckeyes (6-0) was a rare interception by a defensive end, sophomore Vernon Gholston. He dropped back on a zone blitz and picked off a throw by scrambling BG quarterback Anthony Turner, whose pass deflected off running back Chris Bullocks' hands to Gholston, who returned it 8 yards to the BG 21.

Three plays later, Pittman ran through a tackle attempt by Kenny Lewis and then went the rest of the way untouched for his second TD, with 12:13 left in the half.

Pittman gained 41 yards on seven carries in the first half, one of which was an 8-yard run for the Buckeyes' second TD, at 3:51 of the first quarter. The play before, Smith had kept the drive alive with a 34-yard scrambling run on a third-and-25.

On OSU's first possession, Smith threw a 3-yard TD pass to tight end Rory Nicol, increasing his streak of games with a TD pass to eight.

Bowling Green (3-3) got its offense rolling at the start of the second half. The Falcons converted on two third downs and one fourth-and-6 -- a 9-yard pass from Turner to Corey Partridge from the OSU 21 -- before the two hooked up again on a 12-yard TD pass. It capped a 15-play, 88-yard drive that ate 8:39 off the clock.

The Buckeyes and Smith answered with a marathon march of their own. They converted four third downs, including the scoring play, an 11-yard pass from Smith to freshman Ray Small for his first collegiate TD. Though it was OSU's first possession of the second half, the score came at 14:03 of the fourth quarter, capping a 14-play, 70-yard drive that consumed 7:18.

tmay@dispatch.com