FAYETTEVILLE -- Quarterback Casey Dick looked like a different player in Arkansas’ first two games.

He was confident. He made good decisions. He calmly led the Razorbacks to come-from-behind wins and seemed like a quarterback ready to blossom under Bobby Petrino.

Then came the Southeastern Conference opener against ninth-ranked Alabama. And suddenly, the senior looked like the Casey Dick of old.

Dick — who had his share of trouble his first three years — suffered through one of his worst days as a Razorback during the 49-14 loss to the Crimson Tide on Saturday.

He completed 20 of 39 passes for 190 yards with one touchdown, while tying his career-high with three interceptions. Two of Dick’s picks were returned for touchdowns in the first half, a big reason the Razorbacks never had a chance.

“It’s my fault,” Dick said. “Stupid throws that I made that I’ve got to look at film, get better from and not let it happen again.”

Dick’s first interception came with the Razorbacks trailing 14-0 in the first quarter. He flipped a pass into the flat where Crimson Tide cornerback Javier Arenas was waiting all alone. Arenas caught the ball, raced down the sideline, juked Dick and reached the end zone for a 63-yard return.

“I got closer to the end zone and I realized my chances of scoring and I was like, ‘There ain’t no way on Earth he’s going to tackle me,’” Arenas said. “So I made a move on (Dick).”

A similar scene unfolded a few minutes later. This time, Alabama safety Justin Woodall came up with the easy interception, juked Dick and scored on a 74-yard return to give Alabama a 35-7 lead.

“They were bad plays,” Petrino said. “He threw them both late, out into the flat, flat-footed. Plays that we put in probably the second day of spring practice that he’s executed well up to this point.”

The meltdown was uncharacteristic of Dick, who entered the game leading the SEC in passing yards (320.5) and total yards (335). He had thrived in his new role as Arkansas’ offensive playmaker, so the performance surprised teammates Saturday.

“You haven’t seen him struggle like that in a long time,” running back Michael Smith said. “You just try to encourage him and tell Casey you’re better than that.”

Dick made one more blunder shortly after halftime, throwing his third interception on the first play. Arkansas finally decided to pull the quarterback in the fourth quarter, letting freshman Tyler Wilson run the offense for the first time.

After the game, Dick blamed himself over and over. He said the interceptions had nothing to do with Alabama’s pass rush or bad routes run by Arkansas’ receivers.

But Dick also said the mistakes haven’t damaged his confidence.

“That’s what happens in the world to everybody,” Dick said. “Some days people are going to have bad days at work, bad days at jobs. We’ve got to be able to move forward and get better.”