FAYETTEVILLE — The Bobby Petrino era at Arkansas opened with sizzle, but the biggest jolts of electricity came at the end of an unexpectedly tight game.

Casey Dick scored from 4 yards out with 1: 49 to play, his second rushing touchdown of the game, to lead the Razorbacks to a 28-24 comeback victory over gritty Western Illinois.

“Whew, that was a lot closer than we anticipated,” Petrino said, obviously relieved after the narrow escape.

Dick passed for a career-high 318 yards on the same evening he rushed for the first two scores of his career, causing teammates to refer to him as Casey “Vick,” in reference to the former hardrunning Atlanta Falcons quarterback.

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Dick’s passing yardage, the seventh-highest single-game total in school history, included 208 passing yards in the second half, when the Razorbacks found their tempo against the pesky Leathernecks, who sacked Dick four times.

“Once you get into a rhythm like that, it’s amazing,” Dick said. “You get big plays, big chunks of yards.... Once we got the empty formation [five receivers ] going, we were able to get what we wanted.”

Yet the Razorbacks almost ran out of time against a patient Western Illinois offense that amassed 157 rushing yards, milked the clock, and twice led by 10 points, including a 24-14 margin with 10: 34 left to play.

“We have a quality team, and that’s going to be tough for some Arkansas fans to understand,” said Mark Hendrickson, Western Illinois’ acting head coach.

“We just ran out of juice, but man, when we had juice, we really got after them.”

Leathernecks tailback Herb Donaldson ran for 157 yards, and scored on a 3-yard run and a 12-yard reception to lead the upset attempt in their first game without head coach Don Patterson, who is undergoing cancer treatments.

“We just have a good veteran line.... We ran our offense and executed our game plan,” Donaldson said.

Dick’s 11-yard throw to Carlton Salters on fourth-and-10 from the Western 33 saved the day and kept Arkansas ’ comeback alive in the waning moments. A 13-yard throw to Greg Childs moved the Hogs to the 8, then De’Anthony Curtis ran 4 yards to set up Dick’s winning run around left end.

“I guess we have to call [Dick ] a dualthreat now,” Arkansas center Jonathan Luigs said, cracking a grin.

“A great quarterback has to be a willing runner,” Petrino said. “A couple of times they were dropping eight, rushing three, and at that time he has to be a willing runner.”

Dick’s 23-yard touchdown run, the longest run of his career, finished an 80-yard march midway through the third quarter and pulled the Hogs within 17-14. Dick dropped back, scooted up the middle, juked a linebacker, received key blocks from receivers Lucas Miller and London Crawford and made the right corner.

The crowd of 70, 537 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium expected fireworks with the flashy Petrino offense, but Western Illinois tamped down the enthusiasm with the ground game that frequently knocked a young Arkansas defense back on its heels. But the crowd provided a boost with a roar at the end as Arkansas drove for the victory.

“They certainly played their part in helping us come back,” Petrino said. “It was great to have the support of the fans.”

True freshmen Joe Adams and Childs accounted for the first two receiving touchdowns and true freshman running backs Curtis and Dennis Johnson had all the carries, with junior tailback Michael Smith suspended for the game.

The scent of upset was in the air early, after freshman Elton Ford fumbled away the opening kickoff. The Razorbacks made their share of mistakes, losing the turnover battle 3-0, but never lost heart.

Arkansas trailed 24-14 with less then 11 minutes to play after the Leathernecks turned a Salters fumble into a 13-play, 35-yard touchdown drive that took 8: 05 off the clock. The drive was capped by fullback Javid Milton’s 1-yard dive.

Dick led a quick nine-play drive that went 73 yards and took only 2: 36 off the clock. The sequence was saved by Dick’s 20-yard throw over the middle to Miller on third-and-10. Arkansas scored when Dick found Childs in a seam and the 26-yard scoring play with 7: 58 remaining pulled the Hogs within 24-21.

Razorbacks receivers dropped three passes on the series, five for the game. But Arkansas finally found the rhythm Petrino’s offenses are famous for establishing, going almost exclusively to a five-wide set in the second half.

Then, the onus fell on a defense that had taken a pounding from the rugged Western Illinois rushing game. Donaldson bounced around left end for 15 yards on the first snap, but the Razorbacks got tough and forced a punt.

Arkansas’ game-winning drive started at its own 16. Pass completions of 24 yards to Miller and Childs put the Razorbacks inside Western Illinois territory at the 33.

But three consecutive incomplete throws left the Hogs with a fourth-and-10 situation. Petrino decided against a potential game-tying 50-yard field goal try and left his offense on the field. Dick took his drop, stepped up and bumped into linemen as it appeared he was about to run, then took a step back and fired low for Salters, who was draped by a defender but hauled in the pass at the 22, setting up the winning touchdown.

Western Illinois, a veteran club expected to contend in the Missouri Valley Conference and on the national picture in the Football Championship Subdivision, was loaded to run. Tailback Donaldson and a quality offensive line helped the Leathernecks dictate the tempo and control the clock on the ground.

“They have a very sophisticated offense, and defensively there’s no question we held up very well, for as long as we could,” Hendrickson said.

Arkansas finished with just 76 rushing yards, but Dick’s 25-of-41 passing for 318 yards provided enough offense for the Razorbacks to escape.

“We have to find out what’s going to make us go for a whole game and this offense will be all right,” Dick said.