FAYETTEVILLE — An air of excitement was building last week and thousands of cars adorned with Razorbacks stickers and flags hit the highway Saturday for the start of the Bobby Petrino era.

Anticipation of the Petrino offense was high until kickoff, when emotion almost immediately turned into anxiety.

Before the night would end it would turn into angst, anger, aggravation and absolute shock.

But in the end, it was whew and a small smile.

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The Arkansas Razorbacks escaped 28-24 in a game that was more for the rages than ages.

Yes, an ugly victory is better than a pretty loss, but Saturday night might have illustrated just how awful it was for Petrino in Atlanta.

He was willing to come here and take over a team that had only seven senior starters.

The end result was OK, but getting there was one of those bumpy rides Nolan Richardson used to talk about.

It wasn’t the red pants, the offensive scheme and it certainly wasn’t the crowd. Razorback Stadium went from outrageously vocal to an almost stunned silence in the fourth quarter when Western Illinois appeared ready to not only cash its check, but its chips too.

With more than 70, 000 on their feet screaming to help, Javid Milton bulled over on fourthand-goal to make it 24-14 for the Leathernecks with 10: 34 to play.

Petrino is a good coach, but Saturday night he almost had to be a miracle worker.

He pulled one from the jaws of defeat with play-calling that resulted in two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and Casey Dick mirrored Petrino’s calm even when down 10.

The major problem was simple — a lack of tackling.

Until the fourth quarter, blocking could have been a major issue too.

And a lack of execution.

Down 10 the Razorbacks came right back and kept the majority of the fans in their seats by driving down for a touchdown, a 26-yard pass from Dick to true freshman Greg Childs with 7: 54 to play.

Most thought it would be a 33-point game, at least, by then.

Western Illinois is a Football Championship Subdivision playoff team. Think Central Arkansas or Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The Hogs stopped the Leathernecks, and with 5: 42 to play had 83 yards to go. Dick passed for 75 yards as Arkansas used a variety of plays to move down the field. Dick then scored the go-ahead touchdown when he scampered around left end for 4 yards with 1: 45 to play.

When Western Illinois ’ desperation fourth-and-10 pass from its 40 fell incomplete, the hearty fans roared and started for the exits happier than they had thought possible.

The opening kickoff might have set the tone. It was fumbled, and seven seconds into the season the Leathernecks of Western Illinois, not your traditional IAA Appalachian State type of powerhouse, were about to take a 3-0 lead on the home team.

Arkansas’ offense was supposed to be its strength, but it spit and sputtered like a sprinter in a distance race until the finish line was in sight.

The Razorbacks didn’t get into visiting territory until true freshman De’Anthony Curtis went up the middle for 18 yards to the Western Illinois 48 with 4: 45 to play in the first half.

Dick was sacked on the next play, but Curtis had softened the Leathernecks up enough that the next three passes went for 12 yards to London Crawford, 29 to Childs — unheralded until the scoreboard went on — and 12 to redshirt freshman Crosby Tuck.

Three plays later Joe Adams grabbed Dick’s pass in traffic and the Razorbacks were on the scoreboard. Adams is a true freshman, and those two words were a common theme Saturday night and might be for 11 more Saturdays. But that was basically the first-half highlight reel.

The Hogs went into halftime down 10-7, and saying the Hogs defense was having trouble stopping the run would be like saying the Republicans and Democrats both like Sarah Palin for vice president.

In the end, though, Bobby Petrino remained undefeated in season openers.

It was not pretty, for sure, but it was better than the alternative.