FAYETTEVILLE — Casey Dick and his little brother, Nathan, used to play a game called “Burnout” around the fields and lots in Allen, Texas.

Now the stakes are substantially higher than flinging fullspeed passes at 15 paces.

For the first time since Nathan Dick hit Arkansas’ campus for his redshirt freshman season in 2007, the brothers appear to be engaged in a legitimate battle for the starting quarterback job as the Razorbacks prepare for Saturday’s game at Mississippi State.

Throughout the season, Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino had maintained that playing Casey Dick gave the Razorbacks their best chance to win games.

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Until last week.

Petrino made no such assertion after Dick’s disappointing day against South Carolina. The senior’s performance that day featured three interceptions, including a momentum-busting pass that was intercepted and returned 40 yards by defensive end Jordin Lindsey, and a series of indecisive plays that led to six sacks.

The last of those sacks knocked Dick from the game with a concussion and threw the job up for grabs.

Nathan Dick, who took firstteam snaps last week while Casey recovered, was still taking firststring reps in the earliest periods of Tuesday’s workout with his brother cleared to practice.

“When I get out there, I don’t think, ‘My brother is right behind me,’” Nathan Dick said. “I just get out and play football like I’ve been doing for 12 years, enjoying it out there and loving football.”

There is no predicting which player Petrino will pick to start, and nobody was revealing much about where the race is headed.

“They both did similar reps and they both had good nights, so it was pretty much the same,” offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said. “They’re just going to come out and practice hard, and just whoever we feel does the best in the game plan, that’s how we’re going to go with it.”

Casey Dick has a string of 28 consecutive starts in his corner, but he’s coming off that shaky performance and the head-ringing shot he took in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve had competition ever since we grew up together. We have from day one,” Casey Dick said. “We’ll have to see where it goes and see what Coach decides and puts us in the best situation.

“ It pushes you no matter who is out there, no matter if it’s your brother out there backing you up or another teammate.”

Nathan Dick has an upswing of confidence based on his touchdown drive at South Carolina, plus the advantage of taking first-team snaps with some Mississippi State game-planning going last week during Arkansas ’ bye week.

Nathan Dick led the Razorbacks 87 yards for a touchdown on their final series against the Gamecocks, completing 4 of 8 passes for 38 yards along the way and having a would-be touchdown strike to Lucas Miller negated by a penalty.

“I feel great,” Nathan Dick said. “I feel like I can go out there and do that just about every time.”

Bobby Petrino was complimentary of Nathan Dick’s composure on that series.

“I’ve always said we’ll never know how good Nathan is until he gets in live action,” Petrino said that day. “You see his instincts in the pocket and ability to run, but it had never been live action. He got the ball in the end zone.”

The displeasure with Casey Dick’s performance against South Carolina has been evident. Bobby Petrino said after the game that there were times the play was there but Dick held on to the ball too long and ended up taking a hit.

“It wasn’t Casey’s best game of the year against South Carolina,” Petrino said Monday. “He certainly had some mistakes prior to getting hit in the head.”

Apparently Nathan Dick’s practice performances have made the idea of a change much more of a possibility.

“I’ve been impressed with how serious he’s taken it, how prepared he’s been for every practice, the leadership he’s shown stepping into the huddle and just kind of the different guy that’s come out,” Petrino said. “ The different personality that comes out when you step up to No. 1, that’s been a good thing.