Of all the offensive numbers The University of Memphis football team gained against UT-Chattanooga in their 59-14 win, it's the absence of stats that should have Memphis fans cheering.
Besides the 592 yards of total offense, the fifth highest output in school history, the 398 yards rushing, 32 first downs and 10 receivers catching balls, it's a zero in the box score that should gain the most attention.
Will Hudgens, in his first career start, threw no interceptions, which is the closest thing to tangible evidence of the fact that he knew he'd be the starter 12 days before taking the field.
Although Division 1-AA UT-Chattanooga is not Ole Miss, Hudgens' 139 yards on 10 of 15 passes and two touchdowns should still be considered impressive no matter the competition.
"They're probably not as good as Ole Miss, but there are 11 guys trying to stop you," said the redshirt freshman Hudgens.
Danny Wimprine's shoes are still quite big on the 6-4 Hudgens, but the attitude and desire are very similar.
On the game's first drive, Hudgens was faced with a second and six from his own 44. His pass to wide-open tight end John Doucette was long. If Doucette had caught the ball, it would have easily been a first down and then some.
Hudgens was furious with himself. If a spectator hadn't known the situation, they might have guessed it was the fourth quarter and Memphis was on the wrong end of the score.
However, it was 0-0 and only about to be third down. Nevertheless, there he was at his own 40-yard line with body language that seethed anger.
In this game, however, there would be very few of those angry moments for Hudgens on one of the biggest days of his football career.
The high point of the day matched the altitude of his pass to senior receiver Maurice Avery, good for a 62-yard touchdown. It was Avery's first of two touchdowns on the night.
Hudgens' receivers knew they needed to make plays and believed that he would put them in position to do so.
"We had confidence in him from the last game," said Avery. "He came in from the last game and came up real big. Everybody had confidence in him and rallied behind him."
The confidence was mutual.
"When you've got receivers like that, who are going to make plays for you, it's easy," said Hudgens.
A total of seven receivers made plays for Hudgens in the spread offense Memphis runs. The number of receiving threats Hudgens has the ability to utilize can only help his progression.
"We're just playing within our system," said Hudgens. "Our system allows seven different people to get the ball every night. That's what I like about our system - we can get everybody involved and make everybody happy."
Happy was not a word to describe head coach Tommy West's feelings about offensive line play in the season opening loss to the Rebels, but the line handled whatever the Mocs threw at them on Saturday.
"I think I only got hit once, and that was on a rollout pass, and that's not surprising with someone coming off the corner like that," said Hudgens.
Being fresh physically will let Hudgens concentrate on what he needs to do when he and Memphis go on the road for the first time this year to face Tulsa Saturday. Hudgens said facing UT-Chattanooga was important for the mentality of the team and to tune up for Tulsa.
"When you lose like that to an SEC school (Ole Miss), you kind of need a rebound to pick your team up a little bit," he said. "It's good to play somebody like this."
