For Bobby Petrino it was Love at first sight.

Asked who stood out in the trenches in Arkansas’ 28-24 victory over Western Illinois, the new Arkansas coach without pause named DeMarcus Love.

“ On the offensive line, Love played real well for us, ” Petrino said. “ He was very physical, did a nice job in pass protection. Played with great effort. He’s going to be a good force for us. ”

Must be words Love loves to hear. Petrino doesn’t toss praise around lightly, and the Razorbacks had barely survived a foe they were offthe-board favorites to drub.

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“ I feel I played pretty well, ” Love, the third-year sophomore strongside guard, said, “ but I feel I can get better picking up some more things, picking up some more blitzes. We had miscommunications on those first-half sacks. We’ll get that corrected. ”

Quarterback Casey Dick was sacked four times in last Saturday’s first half that Arkansas trailed, 10-7. The Hogs protected him sackfree in the second half even while falling behind, 17-7 and 24-14 before Dick’s 4-yard touchdown run saved their bacon with 1: 49 left in the game.

The victory was achieved totally alien to what made the Hogs tick under former coach Houston Nutt.

Instead of a lot of tailback running and not much passing, the Hogs threw nearly twice as often as they ran (41 passes versus 21 runs ). And when they did run, it was Casey Dick, the quarterback whose carries the past three years were mostly quarterback sacks, running most effectively.

Dick saw the middle open and pulled the ball down from a would-be pass to run for a 23-yard, third-quarter touchdown. His 4-yard gamewinner was a called run.

Fans and media weren’t the only ones stunned to see Casey on the run.

“ I had never seen him run like that, either, ” Love said. “ That was the first time I had seen him just run. I’m just happy that he was running. A senior that was leading and doing what he could to get the win for us. ”

The players and coaches all know that while Dick’s running and passing saved their hide, they’ll need more tailback opportunities (Arkansas only had the ball 23: 17 ) to be a balanced offense.

“ We felt we could run the ball better, but the way the game went we had to end up passing, ” Love said. “ Hopefully we will start running the ball a little more next week. ”

Petrino is pulling for Love to help make that happen.

“ We’ve got to be able to try and pull him more, ” Petrino said, “ and get him out running, because he’s such a good athlete. ”

Defensive line coach Bobby Allen, remaining from Nutt’s staff to coach under Petrino, recruited Love out of Dallas’ Carter High School and away from suitors Kansas and Arizona for his size (6-5, 302 ) and athleticism.

In 2006, Love redshirted as a freshman, as most offensive linemen do. Last year he emerged as a reserve three games into the season. He closed the season starting three games at right guard.

“ At the beginning of the season I got hurt, ” Love said. “ I dislocated my kneecap which is why I missed the first two games. Later on we had some injuries and they moved me in the lineup. I played as hard as I could play and they just kept me in there the last three games. I was just glad to get on the field. ”

Especially on LSU’s field at Death Valley when the Razorbacks beat the eventual 2007 national champion Tigers.

“ Beating them on their home field in triple overtime, ” Love said, “ I would say that was the best game for every offensive lineman. Everyone played as hard as they could. ”

Did he play as well against Western Illinois as he did against LSU ?

“ I think I played well in both games, ” Love said. “ I had an OK game, but I want to get better. ”

When Petrino and offensive line coach Mike Summers succeeded Nutt and offensive line coach Mike Markuson, Love had a leg up on the Hogs’ guards and tackles adjusting to the new system.

With the old system a right guard was always a right guard.

But with Petrino and Summers, the guards and tackles, are designated strong side and weak side, with the strong side always going to the tight end’s side whether left or right.

“ I played strong guard in high school, ” Love said. “ So I am familiar with that style. Switching sides wasn’t that big an adjustment at all. ”

Love wasn’t just a football player at Carter. Seems he was an actor, too.

“ I had a little, small clip, ” Love said, “ in ‘ Friday Night Lights’ from my sophomore year in high school. Just a little clip showing me running into Texas Stadium. It wasn’t just a real big clip, but it was a little something. ”

Now it’s Petrino and Summers watching him on film. For the first reel, it’s been a good Love scene.