Dropped passes and errant throws conspired to create a crisis in confidence for Arkansas' passing game, ranked 109 th in NCAA Division I football before Saturday night's game with North Texas.

What could heal junior quarterback Casey Dick and his beleaguered receiving corps' damaged psyches better than a date with the Mean Green's 115 th-ranked pass defense (359. 3 yards per game )? Confidence was inspired after the Razorbacks' 66-7 beatdown of overmatched North Texas (0-4 ).

Receivers who had been ham-handed the first three games of the year displayed the deft mitts of jewelers, recapturing the trust of a quarterback whom they had betrayed too often during a 1-2 start. Sophomore London Crawford started the healing.

His hard-run post route tangled up a defender's feet and got him behind a Mean Green secondary that had been duped by a play-action fake to Darren McFadden. The 61-yard touchdown connection was Dick's longest career completion and Crawford's longest reception at Arkansas. The deep strike put the Razorbacks up 14-0 with only 5: 09 elapsed off the clock.

" Before I even went out there, you had [receivers coach Alex ] Wood keep telling me, ' Make sure you step on their toes, make sure you step on their toes before you make your move, '" Crawford said. " I ran into him, stepped on his toes, gave him an outside jab and then was runnin'. "

Crawford said he and his unit were resolved to regain their quarterback's trust and their coach's confidence.

" We just went out there to prove a point, " he said. " We just wanted to win the confidence in our quarterback and the confidence in our coaches. We told ourselves if we're going to do it, we're going to have to be consistent and that's what we went out there to do - be consistent. "

Senior receiver Robert Johnson, a converted quarterback, caught his first career touchdown pass. The 37-yard reception was Johnson's longest at Arkansas and came with cornerback Antoine Bush guarding him closely.

Though the coverage was tight, Dick was sure his man would come away with the ball. The quarterback had the same belief in his other receivers.

" We just had confidence in him, " Dick said. " We threw it up there and he made a play, so we'll continue to feed it to him. You got to keep confidence in them. Guys are going to make mistakes. That's part of football.

" Nobody goes out there and plays a perfect game. We've got to continue to throw to them and they'll make plays for us. "

Johnson's four catches were the most among nine receivers who caught passes from Dick and backup Nathan Emert. A former quarterback, Johnson appreciates how many parts have to converge for the passing game to be effective.

The offensive line is the one component not complicit in the passing game's struggles. It has allowed a scant 11 sacks in the last 18 games.

" The offensive line did a real good job blocking and keeping the pressure off Casey, " he said. " It gives Casey a chance to throw the ball and let his confidence build up. As long as we can protect and catch the ball we should have a real good team. "