BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -Tyrod Taylor didn't exactly make No. 18 Virginia Tech's offense shine, but the freshman quarterback ran for a touchdown and didn't make any mistakes as the Hokies struggled again but beat Ohio 28-7 on Saturday.

Inserted into the lineup in place of Sean Glennon to energize the running game and help mask the deficiencies in the offensive line, Taylor limited his running and completed 18 of 31 passes for 287 yards. He also scored on a 6-yard draw play with 3:38 left in the third quarter, giving the Hokies (2-1) their first lead at 14-7.

His biggest play came on the first play of that drive when he was there to pick up Branden Ore's fumble at the Hokies 45, the only one of three fumbles Tech didn't lose.

The Bobcats (2-1) gained just 114 yards and got their only points on a 26-yard drive set up by Eddie Royal's muffed punt in the first half. Ohio spent most of the second half trying to get out of its own territory and only got as far as midfield.

The game was the first of three straight at home that the Hokies should win, but the flair fans expected when they cheered as Taylor trotted onto the field for the first time never really materialized. The biggest benefactor, it seemed, was Kenny Lewis, who ran for touchdowns of 13 and 44 yards, the latter making it 28-7 with 6:13 left.

By then, Hokies coach Frank Beamer's 200th career victory was assured, but not without giving the coach a lot to worry about before the schedule gets tougher.

Ore, limited to 98 yards rushing in the first two games, finished with 82 on 18 carries and scored on a 1-yard run, but rarely looked like the slashing player who ran for more than 1,100 yards and scored 17 touchdowns in essentially 10 games in 2006.

Half his yards came on runs of 24 and 16 yards on separate drives.

Taylor was 5-for-6 for 49 yards and hit five different receivers on the Hokies' lone first-half scoring drive. Two of the completions came on third-and-long, and Lewis took it the final 13 yards off the left side to tie it at 7-all just 5:42 before halftime.

The Hokies also fumbled twice in the first half.

The first came when Josh Morgan was hit as he pulled in a pass at the Bobcats' 5, the ball popping into the arms of Ohio's Landon Cohen. The second came when Royal muffed a punt at his own 26 and Ryan Senser recovered, setting up Ohio's TD drive.

McRae, who scored four times last week as the Bobcats rallied to beat Louisiana-Lafayette, rushed five times for 20 yards on the drive and caught a 6-yard pass that turned into a huge play when Brandon Flowers drew a 15-yard personal foul penalty.

That set Ohio up at the 14, and McRae did the rest, scoring on a 4-yard run.