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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Central Michigan remained unbeaten in Mid-American Conference play with a 24-10 win at Bowling Green Saturday.

Dan LeFevour passed for 147 yards and two scores and added another 128 yards on the ground to pace a Chippewa attack that finished with 406 total yards.

However, it was four stops by the Chippewa defense inside its own red zone that keyed the win. Bowling Green missed a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter, threw an interception in the red zone in the second quarter, fumbled the ball away inside the 10-yard line in the third quarter and was stopped on downs on its final possession of the game.

Bowling Green was held to 363 total yards, 45 yards below its season average. The Chippewas limited the Falcons to just 20 rushing yards in the contest.

CMU improves to 7-1 overall with the win, its best eight-game start since 1984. The Chippewas are 5-0 in the MAC for the fourth straight season.

The Chippewas opened fast Saturday, forcing a Bowling Green three-and-out before marching 66 yards in seven plays for the game's first touchdown. LeFevour accounted for half the yardage with a 33-yard run on first-and-10 from the CMU 45, and Antonio Brown capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run.

Bowling Green tied the score early in the second quarter when the Tyler Sheehan-to-Freddie Barnes connection clicked on back-to-back plays. The pair hooked up for 51 yards on third-and-7 to set up a 24-yard scoring throw.

CMU took the lead for good on the ensuing possession. Antonio Brown returned the kickoff to the CMU 35-yard line, and Carl Volny ran for 25 yards on first down. Four plays later, LeFevour hit Brown in stride on a post pattern for a 29-yard scoring throw.

Bowling Green advanced to the CMU 12-yard line on the next possession, but Josh Gordy intercepted Sheehan on second down to end the threat.

The Falcon defense forced CMU to punt, and Matt Norsic converted a 40-yard field goal attempt to cut CMU's lead to 14-10 at halftime.

Andrew Aguila's 38-yard field goal on the opening possession of the second half extended the Chippewas' lead to 17-10.

Bowling Green drove to the CMU 14-yard line on its first possession of the half before turning the ball over. Chris Wright was stripped by Nick Bellore on first-and-10 from the 14, and Kirkston Edwards recovered the ball at the 9-yard line.

The teams combined to punt four times before CMU put together its final scoring drive of the day. A 24-yard run by LeFevour on third-and-8 from the Bowling Green 33 set up a 9-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Anderson.

The Falcons drove inside the CMU 20-yard line in the game's closing minutes, but four straight incompletions ended Bowling Green's final possession.

LeFevour's 128 rushing yards led the Chippewas, who ran for 259 yards as a team. Volny finished with 74 yards on 11 carries, while Brown added 42 yards on six carries.

LeFevour's 16 completions were spread among seven receivers. Brown posted team highs of five catches for 68 yards. Bellore finished with a game-high 13 tackles, while Gordy added 10 stops along with his 10th career interception.

Bowling Green's Sheehan was 35-of-55 passing for 341 yards. The Chippewas sacked him three times: twice by Larry Knight and once by John Williams. Barnes, the national leader in both receptions and receiving yards, caught 14 passes for 172 yards.

CMU steps out of conference to close a three-game road trip next weekend, visiting Boston College. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, with ESPNU set to televise the contest.