ESPN SEC Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

	AP Photo/April L. Brown
	Arkansas' Casey Dick has thrown for 641 yards and four touchdowns in his first two games.

The pride of Allen, Texas, Casey Dick had this one circled. At least, figuratively.

Texas is always big when you're a Texas kid. It's even bigger when you're a Texas kid who wasn't recruited by Texas and magnified that much more when you're a Texas kid who wasn't recruited by Texas and is playing at Arkansas.

"Just being around here, you know how big this game is to a lot of people," said Dick, the Razorbacks' senior quarterback.

With the Arkansas-Texas game being postponed until Sept. 27 because of Hurricane Ike, Dick will have to wait a little longer for his first and only shot at the Longhorns.

Arkansas has struggled in a pair of shaky wins to start the season. Dick saved the Hogs each time and is playing the best football of his career. He's thrown for 641 yards and four touchdowns in his first two games. He's completing 62.7 percent of his passes, and most importantly, has led the Hogs on fourth-quarter, game-winning drives in both games.

A big part of his transformation is Bobby Petrino's system. Dick isn't just handing the ball off anymore to Darren McFadden or Felix Jones. He's getting a chance to read defenses, find open receivers and throw the ball down the field.

"It's been great. Any quarterback would love to play in this system," said Dick, who threw for 1,695 yards last season. "I feel very comfortable with what we're doing right now. I meet a lot with coach Petrino during the week and go over specific calls and what we're looking for in certain situations. We're on the same page, and you can tell that when you get on the field."

Dick understands that there's obvious concern among the fans about Arkansas having to rally in the final minutes to beat both Western Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe. But he said that experience will help the Razorbacks down the road.

"We had to make a bunch of big plays to win those games, and I think it's going to carry over and only help us get better," Dick said. "The main thing is that we're 2-0. I'm sure there are a bunch of teams out there that would trade what they've done in some losses for our two W's. The thing we have to do now is go get better, and this team has shown that it's going to keep chopping away."

Petrino said Dick has become a better student of the game and understands better now what defenses are trying to do to him, which has been especially important in late-game situations this season.

"He's showed a lot of poise when we've been behind and the game has been on the line," Petrino said. But he's really been able to keep his poise, and I think he's earned all the respect from the players. That will just help us become a better team."