Joshua Dobbs and Josh Malone parlayed their chemistry to assist No. 15 Tennessee in avoiding a devastating defeat on Saturday

Dobbs, a senior quarterback, threw two touchdown passes to the junior receiver as the Volunteers sidestepped an upset bid by Ohio to post a 28-19 victory in nonconference play at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.

Particularly important was Malone's second touchdown grab. The 20-yard reception early in the fourth quarter capped an 11-play, 90-yard drive that assured Tennessee (3-0) wouldn't become the first ranked team to lose to the Bobcats in the program's 122-year history.

Dobbs has six touchdown passes this season. Four have been corralled by Malone.

"He holds himself to a high standard," Dobbs said. "Anytime the ball is thrown in his direction he wants to go make the play."

Dobbs was 19-of-27 passing for 203 yards and one interception. Malone caught five passes for 69 yards and junior running back Jalen Hurd added a rushing touchdown for Tennessee, which opens SEC play against Florida next Saturday.

"Our goal was to be 3-0 at this point, and we are 3-0," said Volunteers coach Butch Jones, "but I think everyone will tell you that we have to get a lot better as we start conference play next week."

Redshirt freshman Louie Zervos kicked four field goals for the Bobcats (1-2), who fell to 0-27 against Top 25 teams. Senior quarterback Greg Windham completed 23 of 46 passes for 230 yards and one touchdown and senior receiver Sebastian Smith caught nine passes for a career-best 156 yards for Ohio.

Junior linebacker Quentin Poling racked up 14 tackles for the Bobcats, who missed several opportunities for key turnovers by failing to recover any of Tennessee's five fumbles.

"It is very frustrating for a defense," Ohio senior defensive end Tarell Basham said. "Those loose balls, any of them being turnovers could've been the difference in this game."

Settling for field goals -- three of them were from 30 yards or closer -- also sabotaged the Bobcats' chances at springing of the upset.

"You don't want to kick field goals," Ohio coach Frank Solich said. "I don't think anybody in the business wants to kick field goals but it might keep yourself within a score of the opponent and we were able to do that by kicking field goals.

"We kept ourselves in position -- by kicking field goals -- to win but it's not what we're after."

The tussle with the Bobcats marked the second time this season that Tennessee was tested at home by a non-power conference school.

The Volunteers were fortunate to escape with an overtime victory against Appalachian State in their opener. And now a much closer-than-anticipated game against Ohio leaves Jones well aware that his team must improve.

"This football team lacks consistency right now," Jones said. "We had a lot of momentum-killers from penalties and too many balls on the ground, but our kids keep fighting and persevering and finding a way to win."

The touchdown reception by Malone with 11:07 remaining gave Tennessee a 28-19 lead and finally asserted the Volunteers' dominance.

Tennessee's defense received the signal as it limited Ohio to 40 yards on 13 plays over the Bobcats' final two drives.

The pesky Bobcats refused to go away after the Volunteers took a 21-12 lead on Dobbs' 13-yard run with 4:57 remaining in the third quarter.

Instead of being deflated by the nine-point deficit, Ohio crisply moved 75 yards on eight plays to get back within two on Windham's 4-yard scoring pass to senior receiver Jordan Reid with 1:09 left in the stanza.

Tennessee answered with the 90-yard backbreaking drive that changed the complexion of the contest and clinched the program's ninth straight victory dating to last season.

The Volunteers started slowly in each of their first two games but needed just 38 seconds to score in this contest. Dobbs hit Malone on a 20-yard scoring pass to cap a three-play, 55-yard drive for the early 7-0 lead.

Zervos booted field goals of 38 and 29 yards to move the Bobcats within one. Tennessee responded with Hurd's 1-yard run 22 seconds into the second quarter before Zervos kicked two more field goals -- both from 30 yards -- to pull Ohio within 14-12 with 6:02 left in the half.

NOTES: Tennessee sophomore MLB Darrin Kirkland Jr., senior DE LaTroy Lewis, junior CB Justin Martin and junior WR Josh Smith all missed the game with ankle injuries while senior OLB Jalen Reeves-Maybin (shoulder), redshirt freshman LB Quart'e Sapp (knee) and senior CB Cameron Sutton (ankle) were lost during the contest. Tennessee coach Butch Jones said afterward that Sutton will be sidelined for an "extended period of time." ... Ohio drops to 2-12 all-time against SEC programs. ... Volunteers senior CB Malik Foreman was suspended for a violation of team rules. Tennessee announced his suspension shortly before kickoff. ... The Bobcats rushed for just 88 yards one week after rolling up 329 in a victory over Kansas. ... Tennessee's nine-game winning streak is the program's longest since a 14-game winning streak that included the school's 13-0 national championship season in 1998 and a season-opening victory in 1999. ... Ohio senior DE Tarell Basham recorded a sack to extend his school record to 21.