KENT, Ohio — Joe Alls rushed for a career-high 179 yards and two touchdowns, Josh Harris threw two touchdown passes and ran for one of his own and the Bowling Green defense forced five turnovers as the Falcons beat Kent State 45-14.

With the win, the Falcons improved to 8-0, making them one of only four undefeated teams in the nation. That record will be tested next week, when they head to Northern Illinois for a showdown between the two best teams in the Mid-American Conference’s West Division.

BG opened the scoring against the Golden Flashes on a 2-yard touchdown run by Alls with 11:15 remaining in the first quarter. Kent State tied the score on a 10-yard touchdown run by quarterback Joshua Cribbs on the ensuing drive. Cribbs, who was questionable for the game with a hamstring injury, ran for 94 yards on the day. Kent State rushers had a total of 255 yards against the Falcon defense.

Falcon Coach Urban Meyer said that BG has to do a better job of stopping the run.

“I am very dissapointed in the way were able to stop the run,” Meyer said. “I have enough trust in our coaches and players we’ll get that corrected.”

The first quarter ended with the two teams deadlocked at seven. Just like last week, Bowling Green dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Golden Flashes 17-0. The Falcons’ second touchdown was set up by an interception by Janssen Patton. BG then had a five-play drive which concluded when Alls ran for his second touchdown, a 30-yard run with 8:33 to go in the half.

After linebacker Chris Haneline recovered Kent State running back Antonio King’s fumble on the Golden Flashes’ next drive, Shaun Suisham kicked a 20-yard field goal to give the Falcons a 17-7 lead.

The BG defense wasn’t done.

On Kent’s next possession, Keon Newson intercepted Cribbs and gave Bowling Green the ball on the Kent 39 yard line. BG then marched down the field, and Harris threw his first touchdown pass of the game to Charles Sharon with nine seconds remaining in the half. BG led at halftime, 24-7.

Haneline, who in addition to forcing a fumble led the team with 10 total tackles, talked about the impact that the turnovers had on the game.

“Especially on the road, it’s a killer for the home team to give the ball up,” Haneline said. “We were fortunate today to get a good amount of turnovers, but that’s our focus as a defense.”

The two teams both played scoreless ball for most of the first quarter, before Kent State made one last attempt to get back into the game. Cribbs completed a 58-yard pass to Joshua Bostwick, and three plays later, Eddie Beccles scored a touchdown on a 16-yard run, cutting BG’s lead to 24-14 at the end of the third quarter.

Meyer talked about the respect that the Falcons had for Cribbs. “In case anybody is wondering what we are looking for in a quarterback to recruit, that kid we just played against. … I think he’s a fantastic player, and so do our players,” Meyer said.

Bowling Green would dominate the final quarter, starting on the first play, when Harris ran for a three-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach. Harris connected again later in the quarter, when he hit P.J. Pope for a 34-yard touchdown pass to give BG a 38-14 lead. It was Pope’s only reception. He also rushed for 29 yards on five carries.

BG’s final score came when Andy Sahm rushed for a 12-yard touchdown with 7:18 left.

Harris said that BG’s offense is adaptive to the game’s situation.

“We do what we need to do to win the game,” Harris said. We do what we need to do to move the chains and to make sure this offense continues to have success.”

Kent coach Dean Pees said he thought his team was well prepared, but didn’t take advantage of its opportunities, while Bowling Green did.

“(Bowling Green) has an excellent, excellent football team,” Pees said. “They came in, played hard and were well prepared. I thought our kids had a good attitude going into the game, we just made too many mistakes at too many critical times.”

Meyer said that getting ready for next week’s matchup with Northern Illinois will be exciting for everyone on the team.

“This is our super bowl, this is our championship game, this is it,” Meyer said. “It’s the greatest week to ever be a part of. We’re looking forward to it.”