Muncie, IN -- Josh Harris passed for two touchdowns and ran for another pair to lead 22nd-ranked Bowling Green to a 41-14 drubbing of Ball State.

Harris rushed for 73 yards and threw for 142 more for the Falcons (9-2, 6-1 Mid-American Conference), who can capture a conference championship with a win over Toledo next week. P.J. Pope recorded 77 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, while B.J. Lane had 115 yards on six touches in the triumph. Bowling Green has won two straight and six of its last seven games.

"Harris is an excellent athlete with good ability and he can make things happen," Ball State coach Brady Hoke said.

The Falcons are on track to compete in their first conference title game since the MAC split into two divisions in 1997. In order to accomplish that goal, Bowling Green needs to win next week in the regular-season finale against Toledo. If it is able to defeat the Rockets, Bowling Green will clinch the MAC West title and host the MAC championship game against Miami-Ohio, which has earned its place in the title game already.

"It's hard to win nine football games, and we've won nine football games," Bowling Green head coach Gregg Brandon said. "Somehow if we don't get it done next week, our seniors will be bitterly disappointed."

Andy Roesch completed 16-of-34 passes for 193 yards and was intercepted once for the Cardinals (4-8, 3-5). Scott Blair posted 84 yards and two scores on 10 carries, and hauled in seven passes for 65 yards in the loss. Ball State suffered its fourth straight loss.

Ball State was pinned inside its own territory in the first quarter and gave up a costly turnover. Roesch was intercepted by Devon Parks, who gave the Falcons possession at the 36-yard line. Bowling Green then scored on its first play when Harris threw a 36-yard TD pass to Hawkins with 8:18 left in the period.

The Cardinals would get the ball back and eventually evened the score after Blair ran for a 42-yard touchdown with 4:18 to go in the first quarter. Roesch picked up two yards on 4th-and-1 to highlight the 10-play, 73-yard march.

Early in the second quarter, Bowling Green grabbed a 14-7 lead courtesy of Harris' 18-yard touchdown pass to Cole Magner. The Falcons, who converted two third-down situations, used 12 plays to move 53 yards for the go-ahead score.

With 3:57 to go in the first half, Harris scored on a two-yard run and the Falcons led by a 21-7 score. The key play was Harris' 11-yard completion to Pope on 4th-and-8.

"Josh doesn't like to lose," Brandon added. "He'll beat you at tiddlywinks."

Early in the fourth quarter, Roesch orchestrated a 13-play drive that covered 84 yards en route to a three-yard TD run by Scott Blair. The PAT kick pulled Ball State within 21-14 with 11:35 left in the third. Roesch was 5-of-10 for 76 yards, including a 12-yard completion to Dante Ridgeway on 4th-and-10. Bryan Williamson added a 42-yard catch in the march.

The Falcons then scored 20 straight points to put the game out of reach.

Pope's 39-yard touchdown run at the 4:34 into the fourth quarter extended Bowling Green's lead to 14 points. Harris then found the end zone on a two- yard scramble to give the Falcons a 34-14 advantage with 7:47 remaining. The extra point failed.

"They did a nice job of executing their plays, especially the ground game with the two long runs," Hoke said.

Roesch was later sacked and fumbled the football. Jeff Runnells recovered for the Falcons, who completed the scoring on Raishaun Stover's seven-yard TD run with 4:39 left in the game.

Game Notes:

Bowling Green posted 445 total yards of offense, while Ball State registered 327 yards...Ridgeway had seven catches for 51 yards for Ball State, giving him a school-record 1,075 yards on the season...Harris was 15-of-27 passing for the Falcons...Roesch scrambled eight times for minus-13 yards.