Casey Dick didn’t want to soak up too many accolades, but it was one of those rare occasions when they were coming his way regardless.

Dick, Arkansas’ often-maligned junior quarterback, completed 14 of 17 passes for 199 yards and a career-high 4 touchdowns in the Razorbacks’ 45-31 victory against Mississippi State on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium. Dick had a string of 12 consecutive completions that spanned from the first quarter into the third and included all four touchdowns.

“It took all 11 of us,” Dick said. “It was great catches by a couple of receivers, and great plays by those guys. We just executed the plays that were called.”

Arkansas offensive coordinator David Lee said he didn’t tell Dick he expected more from him against the Bulldogs, but the quarterback knew what was needed. Without junior tailback Felix Jones — who was on the field for one snap — the Razorbacks needed someone to step up and alleviate some of the attention paid to star Darren McFadden.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I knew we had to be efficient throwing the ball,” Dick said.

Dick didn’t open the game up for McFadden, who was held to 88 yards rushing on 28 carries, but he took advantage of the opportunities created by the run-focused Bulldogs defense.

Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt said, “When you go 14 out of 17, you throw for 200 yards, that’s what it’s about.”

Dick used several play-action “waggle” plays to hit wide-open passes. On a waggle, Dick would fake a handoff and then roll from the pocket to deliver passes to receivers crossing through the defense or running deep.

The call worked for a 30-yard touchdown to fullback Farod Jackson that gave Arkansas a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter. Then, Dick threw a 35-yard score to Robert Johnson and a 19-yard fade to Marcus Monk to give Arkansas a 24-7 halftime lead.

“I was very surprised because I thought they were going to come in and pound the ball,” Mississippi State defensive end Gabe O’Neal said.

Dick said the Razorbacks’ game plan wasn’t complex: run the ball and then try to hit some big, playaction passes. When Arkansas got on a roll in the second quarter, it was pretty near impossible for Mississippi State to stop.

“We didn’t want to throw a whole lot, but when we threw, we made the most of it,” Dick said. “We just felt comfortable with our whole game plan this week. It was simple, it was easy, and we just wanted to come out and execute it well.”

Dick added his fourth touchdown pass in the third quarter when he scrambled away from pressure and found McFadden drifting down the sideline. Mc-Fadden did the rest for a 57-yard touchdown.

“We did things that he could do,” Lee said. “Our waggle playaction has been great all year, and it was great again today. Casey is a good play-action ball-handler. He really is.

“ I was really pleased with him. He needed a big game like that. We needed a big game like that, and we did it throwing.”

Monk made a leaping grab between two defenders on his touchdown, which was reviewed and affirmed by instant replay officials. He said Dick showed his mettle by responding after being benched in the Razorbacks’ loss to Tennessee last week.

“He bounced back,” Monk said. “Some people could have shied away after being benched last game. That tells you what kind of player he is. He stepped up his game and played extremely well.”

Dick was more self-effacing. He said he just delivered the ball to his playmakers, who did the work.

“We just gave those guys an opportunity to go out there and execute what was going on,” Dick said. “They did a fantastic job all day long.

“ We have guys out there who will make plays for us. I have confidence in all those guys. It was a nice day for everybody.”