Bobby Petrino leads his Razorbacks on the field — Andy Shupe

LITTLE ROCK — For openers last Saturday, Arkansas narrowly escaped lower division underdog Western Illinois, 28-24 in Fayetteville.

Meanwhile the University of Louisiana Monroe Warhawks were the season-opening yolk of a 34-0 goose egg scrambled by Auburn.

So ULM coach Charlie Weatherbie might well chorus Bobby Petrino’s “God, I hope so,” when the Arkansas coach was asked last Sunday if he believed the old football adage a team improves most from its first to second game.

It’s Game 2 tonight both for Petrino’s Razorbacks and Weatherbie’s Warhawks at 6 p.m. Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock with a pay-per-view telecast available.

It’s the first Little Rock game for the Petrino regime.

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Though both teams obviously endured some tough times last weekend, both have some aspects to reflect upon boding well for each in Saturday’s SEC vs. Sun Belt Conference session.

For starters, the Razorbacks did win, saving their bacon on the second of senior quarterback Casey Dick’s two rushing touchdowns with 1:49 left in the game. They were the first two rushing touchdowns the three-year letterman ever scored as a Razorback.

He never threw better, 25 of 41 for a career-high 318 yards and 2 touchdowns, that led the SEC. Really, Dick threw better than that. Consider six or seven drops by his receivers including his lone interception that glanced first off a receiver’s hands.

To their credit, all those receivers, Greg Childs, Lucas Miller, Joe Adams, Carlton Salters and London Crawford, overcame those first-half drops with clutch second-half catches.

Also, the pass protection improved to keep Dick second-half sack free after Western Illinois bagged him four times in the first half.

Arkansas’ defense tackled well, Petrino and defensive coordinator Willy Robinson concurred. However the Hogs couldn’t keep WIU running back Herb Donaldson, 35 carries for 157 yards, from moving the chains nor did Arkansas’ rushing attack sustain much, 72 yards in only 21 carries.

WIU hogged 37 minutes possession time behind its big offensive line.

Improving running offense, running defense and special teams play tops Petrino’s to-do list in Little Rock.

Weatherbie, formerly Arkansas’ nattily attired quarterbacks coach for Jack Crowe in 1990 and ‘91, has a team better than last week’s 34-0 score indicates.

Auburn’s defense can do that to anybody. Remember Arkansas had current NFL rookie running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones running against Auburn last year and only scored a touchdown in a 9-7 loss.

Just ask Alabama about the Warhawks. They shocked Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide, 21-14, last year in Tuscaloosa.

Run-pass senior quarterback Kinsmon Lancaster and stocky 5-9 tailback Frank Goodin, the offensive ULM leaders against the Tide, return to lead the Warhawks.

Goodin likely isn’t up to Donaldson caliber, but Lancaster is a vastly more dangerous quarterback threat than Arkansas faced last week. And with better wideouts and a tight end, Zeek Zacharie, 8 catches against Auburn, that reminds Willy Robinson of D.J. Williams, Arkansas’ excellent sophomore tight end.

Defense is ULM’s strength. Auburn’s new Spread offense only scored two touchdowns as it was the Tigers’ defense and special teams, not the Auburn attack, that decided the game.

“Monroe played them pretty tough defensively,” Petrino said. “They didn’t allow a touchdown by Auburn’s offense in the first half.”

Weatherbie certainly was pleased with ULM’s D.

“I thought the defense played real well,” Weatherbie said. “Auburn only converted 5 of 15 third downs which is really good for our defense to hold them to 33 percent there. But I think we got a little tired stopping the run in the third quarter.”

Arkansas knows the feeling from last week before rallying from down 10 in the fourth quarter.

Last week and this week could well mark the only times the Razorbacks are favored in a schedule that next week accelerates to brutal with a four-game gauntlet of national powers Texas, 10th in AP, and SEC ranked rivals Alabama, 13th, Florida, fifth, and Auburn, ninth.

Last week’s alleged cupcake proved hard to swallow. For these young Hogs, this one well could be as tough or tougher.