COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio State is having lots of problems. Ken-Yon Rambo isn't one of them.

	Ohio State's Gary Berry intercepts a throw intended for Jason Collins-Baker.

Rambo caught two long bombs from Steve Bellisari -- one for a 59-yard touchdown and another to set up a score -- as Ohio State (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today, No. 12 AP) overcame yet another rocky start to hold off Cincinnati 34-20 Saturday.

The Buckeyes continue to play awful for a half and great for another, but the one constant has been the play of wide receivers Rambo and Reggie Germany.

"Me and Reggie are the dudes," Rambo said after pulling in three receptions for 164 yards. "We're the playmakers and we're trying to make big plays out there. We did this time."

Germany added six catches for 90 yards. Ohio State needed every single one of their nine receptions.

In the first meeting of the teams in 68 years, the Bearcats (2-2) played as if last week's 17-12 upset of then-No. 8 Wisconsin -- the school's first victory ever over a ranked opponent -- was no fluke.

The Bearcats built a 17-3 second-quarter lead that muzzled a crowd of 93,407 at Ohio Stadium. Even though Ohio State (3-1) took command by scoring 31 straight points, Cincinnati -- a 32-point underdog -- still finished with the upper hand in first downs (26-19) and yards (525-496) and had an 11{-minute advantage in time of possession.

"It was exciting being up 17-3, but we believed we could play with them from the start," Cincinnati strong safety Tinker Keck said.

Ohio State coach John Cooper said, "I don't know if I have been in a tougher game."

The Buckeyes continued to have problems in the opening half. In their last two games -- both at home -- the Buckeyes trailed 10-0 to UCLA and 10-3 to Ohio.

Rambo had 181 receiving yards in the 40-16 victory over Ohio, proving he can save the day for a faltering offense.

"I'm glad Ken-Yon's on our side," Cooper said.

The victory was Cooper's 100th at Ohio State.

"I'm happy and proud to win 100 games," said Cooper, 100-33-4 in 12 seasons. "But it's like I told the team, they're making an old man out of me."

The Buckeyes' 34-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter wasn't even that secure. Cincinnati added a field goal and had a touchdown pass called back that would have cut the lead to seven points with 2:49 remaining.

"Great teams overcome adversity: they did and we didn't," Cincinnati coach Rick Minter said. "They got behind early through the good play of the Bearcats. But good teams, they put the throttle down and regain their composure and they did that."

The Bearcats' Deontey Kenner completed 39-of-55 passes for 343 yards with two interceptions and added 64 yards on eight rushes. Robert Cooper added 100 yards on 22 carries before leaving the game with a sprained knee. Jason Collins-Baker had 11 catches for 87 yards and LaDaris Vann had five receptions for 106 yards.

"Even though we won the football game, we've got a long way to go," Ohio State's Cooper said.

Vann's 75-yard TD reception from Kenner, and Kenner's 35-yard run up the middle on a quarterback draw put Cincinnati ahead 17-3. The Bearcats then intercepted a pass off backup quarterback Austin Moherman on Ohio State's next possession and drove to a first down at the Buckeyes 17 before things started to turn around.

Two Cooper runs and an incompletion forced the Bearcats to settle for a field goal attempt, but Jon Ruffin's 33-yard attempt sailed wide right.

Four plays later, Bellisari froze the defense with a play-action fake and threw deep for Rambo for the 59-yard touchdown that cut the lead to 17-10.

Late in the second quarter, Ohio State took over at its 31 after a punt.

Bellisari kept for 11 yards around right end. Bellisari avoided an onrushing defender and lobbed a long pass that Rambo pulled down between defenders Jeff Burrow and Keck for a 55-yard gain. Michael Wiley then pounded the right side and reached the ball over the goal line for the tying score with less than a minute left in the half.

Derek Combs, spelling Wiley, came in to set up his own 5-yard touchdown run with a 39-yard gain on a draw play early in the third quarter. Bellisari added an insurance score with an 11-yard run.

Bellisari was just 8-of-22 for 197 yards, and four of his passes went through the hands of defenders.

"Their defensive backs dropped more passes than their wide receivers did," Ohio State's Cooper said.

Two weeks removed from a loss to Troy State, the young Bearcats proved to be on the fast track of the learning curve.

"One of the big positives today is that we proved you've got to play the 'Cats for 60 minutes," Kenner said.