GREENCASTLE, Ind. — The Wabash quarterback usually is remembered by how he performs in the Monon Bell Game. Matt Hudson was well aware of that on a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon.

“I couldn’t imagine being 25-1 in every other game I’ve played here and 0-3 in the Bell Game,” he said. “To get this win, I feel like my legacy is solidified.”

Hudson completed 19-of-30 passes for 325 yards and three touchdowns and barely outplayed DePauw’s Spud Dick in a matchup of stellar senior quarterbacks as the Little Giants rolled to a 32-19 victory over the host Tigers before a capacity crowd of 8,070 at Blackstock Stadium.

“There’s a lot of pressure in this game, particularly for the quarterbacks,” Wabash coach Erik Raeburn said. “Legacies kind of hinge on it. I knew he was going to play good and I was really happy he could get a win.”

Wabash (9-1), ranked 14th in the American Football Coaches Association’s NCAA Division III poll, will find out this afternoon if it has earned an at-large bid in the 32-team D-III tournament.

“If we get left out at 9-1, I would be absolutely shocked,” Hudson said. "This is a quality win, definitely the best we’ve had all year. In the one loss we had, I didn’t play (a 10-7 loss to Wittenberg on Oct. 17 which he missed because of a chest injury).’’

The victory also took the sting out of last year’s Bell Game, when Wabash, ranked second in the nation, was routed 36-14. That loss evened the series. With Saturday’s result, Wabash has 54 victories in 116 meetings. DePauw has 53, and there have been nine ties.

“You could play it anywhere,” Wabash defensive tackle Jake Kolisek said. “As long as you get the Bell, it doesn’t matter.”

Hudson threw four interceptions and was sacked twice in last season’s game. He said he felt “haunted” ever since. He didn’t get off to a great start on Saturday either, completing just five of his first 13 passes. After that, he was 14-for-17.

“I feel like a gorilla has been pulled off my back,” he said. “I know that’s a clich, but it’s absolutely true.”

DePauw (7-2) had already clinched a tournament bid by winning the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title. The Tigers looked like they would keep the Bell during the first half when they controlled the ball for more than 23 minutes.

But a bad snap out of the shotgun on third-and-goal from the Wabash 6-yard line resulted in a 21-yard loss. Kolisek (Roncalli) then blocked Jordan Havercamp’s 45-yard field goal attempt, keeping the score 7-0 with one minute left before the break.

Wabash drove 72 yards in six plays, capped by a 9-yard touchdown pass from Hudson to Kody LeMond (Pendleton Heights) with seven seconds left. Even though DePauw blocked the extra-point attempt, the momentum was beginning to shift.

“It was definitely a sigh of relief,” Kolisek said.

Not for the host Tigers, of course.

“Time of possession is one of those stats you can’t always look at,” interim DePauw coach Robby Long said. “If you’re controlling the ball and scoring points, that’s fine. But we came up short and that wasn’t good for the cause. And defensively, we didn’t play as well as we normally do.”

Wabash got rolling with a 19-point third quarter and took the lead for good when Hudson hit Jonathan Horn (Cathedral) over the middle for a 51-yard touchdown with 4:17 left to make the score 18-13.

The Little Giants led 25-13 and took over on downs after stopping DePauw at the 8-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Hudson led them to a 92-yard, nearly eight-minute drive, capped by Tommy Mambourg’s 1-yard run with 5:14 left.

Early in the drive, Hudson leaned forward on a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1 from the Wabash 17-yard line for a first down.

“I can honestly say that was the best drive of my life,” he said.

DePauw’s Dick had a career-high 39 completions on 50 attempts for 380 yards, but he had two interceptions, including one deep in the Tigers’ end that set up a Wabash touchdown.

“It’s not just us, but I don’t think anyone can stop them when they have the ball on offense,” Raeburn said. "He’s just that good and they’ve got too many weapons. We gave up a lot of yards defensively, but we came up with a couple of turnovers and a couple of stops in the red zone. That was the difference.’’