CLEVELAND, Tenn. — It was the perfect situation for Baylor coach Phil Massey to attempt what his coaches called him crazy for even considering.
With wind blowing to the Red Raiders’ advantage and a 21-point lead over Bradley Central, Massey called out senior field-goal kicker Henrique Ribeiro to attempt a 57-yarder Friday night. Ribeiro booted a shot that glanced over the crossbar and sealed what would turn out to be a 45-28 victory over the hosts at Bear Stadium.
Matthew Oellerich finished with 193 yards of total offense and scored three times, while junior tailback Connor Davidson had 102 yards rushing and a touchdown as the Red Raiders ran for 349 as a team in the shootout victory.
The Red Raiders allowed 507 yards of total offense to Bradley but blocked a field-goal attempt and picked off two passes in improving to 2-0.
“We made some mistakes that we have to get better at, but we took advantage of some opportunities to score tonight with the blocked field goal and one of the interceptions,” Massey said.