FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - It took more than 58 minutes for Arkansas to catch Western Illinois, but the Razorbacks escaped with a 28-24 victory over the Leathernecks as quarterback Casey Dick ran in from four yards out to give the Razorbacks the go-ahead touchdown with 1:49 remaining.

The Leathernecks had built 10-point leads on two occasions, and were up 24-14 with 10:34 left, but Arkansas rallied for touchdowns on its last two drives.

The Razorback defense stepped up when it mattered most, batting down seven passes on the Leathernecks' final drive that reached only the 40-yard line.

The Leatherneck defense held the Razorbacks in check during the first quarter, recovering a fumble on the opening-kickoff, forcing two three-and-outs, and collecting an interception while limiting Arkansas to just nine yards of total offense and 5:25 of possession.

They continued the pressure in the second quarter, forcing another three-and-out which made Arkansas punt out of its own end zone and not allowing the Razorbacks into Western territory until the 9:20 mark.

The Leathernecks took a 3-0 lead on their second drive of the game, driving nine plays and 24 yards before settling for a 42-yard field goal by Taylor Rowan with 6:12 left in the quarter.

The score remained 3-0 until the 6:10 mark of the second quarter when Arkansas got on the scoreboard with a 10-play, 81-yard scoring drive that consisted of five complete passes for 62 of those yards.

The aerial success continued for the Razorbacks, who collected 94 passing yards in the second quarter after recording just 10 in the first.

Western responded immediately with its second redzone opportunity of the night, and this time capitalized with a 4-yard run by Donaldson to take a 10-3 lead with 1:21 left in the half. Donaldson rushed six times for 40 yards on the drive, which lasted 11 plays, 66 yards and 4:49.

The Leathernecks took a 10-7 lead into the locker room at halftime, behind 88 rushing yards by Donaldson and a defense that limited the Razorbacks to 86 yards on the ground.

Western extended its lead to 10, 17-7, on the first drive of the second half, driving 57 yards on 10 plays when Matt Barr found Donaldson in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown pass, the first of Donaldson's career.

Quotes from acting head coach Mark Hendrickson

"It's such a disappointing loss and the players are hurting right now. I think this is a real special team though. You can say the positive situation is that we played against a SEC school and played them really tough. We gave it all we had and played them to the wire."

"We only came here for one reason, to win, and that just didn't happen. This was just game one though and we have to turn this into a positive. Our thought now is to come back and get victory number one at Hanson Field."

"With this being such a great group of guys, they will bounce back Monday at practice. We will move on full steam ahead, I am completely confident about that."