FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas has started 2-0 for the 59 th time in 115 football seasons but rarely has cut it so close in winning the first two games.

For only the second time have the Razorbacks won their first and second games by as few as a combined five points, 28-27 over Louisiana-Monroe Saturday night in Little Rock and 28-24 in the season opener against Western Illinois on Aug. 30.

In Danny Ford’s first season as Arkansas’ coach in 1998, the Razorbacks also started 2-0 with the victories by a combined five points, 10-6 over at SMU and 18-17 over South Carolina.

The only other time the Razorbacks won their first two games by fewer than a combined 15 points was in 1896, when they beat Fort Smith High School 10-0 and 6-2.

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Arkansas wasn’t expected to have such close calls against Western Illinois (0-10 against Bowl Championship Series conference teams ) or Louisiana-Monroe (3-31-1 against the SEC ), but the Razorbacks aren’t apologizing for the victories.

“Every win is a big win for us; we don’t care who the opponent is,” said tight end D. J. Williams, who caught two touchdown passes against Louisiana-Monroe. “I think it’s actually working out great for us, where we have to perform in the fourth quarter.”

Arkansas outscored Western Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe a combined 28-10 in the fourth quarter and rallied from deficits of 24-14 against the Leathernecks and 24-6 against the Warhawks.

“I promise you we’re not trying to put ourselves in that same situation,” quarterback Casey Dick said. “But it’s good to know we’ve got a group of guys who will never give up.

“ We were down again, but we fought back and kept chipping away at it.... It was another great effort by everybody.”

First-year Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino praised his players after the Louisiana-Monroe game for their character and belief in each other.

“I think hopefully it will be a game that really helps us grow as a team and helps us continue to get better,” Petrino said. “I know it will help us come closer as a team, because they all fought hard.”

Petrino said that at 2-0, the Razorbacks are “where we needed to be” going into this Saturday’s game at Texas.

“But we certainly need to get a lot better with the schedule we’ve got coming up,” Petrino added.

After renewing their rivalry with Texas, the Razorbacks open SEC play against Alabama, Florida and Auburn.

“We’re 2-0, and I think that’s all that matters,” Dick said. “We’ll go back, evaluate the film, and just keep taking steps forward.”

Dick and Williams both praised Petrino for tough practices that had the Razorbacks ready for their fourth-quarter comebacks.

“Coach Petrino puts a lot of pressure on you at practice,” Dick said. “He’s always giving you instructions, telling you what to do.

“ When we get out there on the field, everybody is like, ‘We’ve been here every day.’... We know what we’re doing. Everybody’s on the same page.”

Williams smiled as he recalled the long, physical practices last spring and this fall.

“All the hard practices we had, the 180-play scrimmages, we thought they were crazy for doing that,” Williams said. “But you can see now we’re able to perform in the fourth quarter when the other team seems to be getting tired.

“ The coaches have done a great job of preparing us for those situations.”