FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Gary Nova did his best to prove Rutgers is indeed for real.

Nova was 25 of 35 passing for a career-best 397 yards and five touchdowns Saturday night to lead the Scarlet Knights to a 35-26 win over Arkansas.

The win secures Rutgers' first 4-0 start since the 2006 season, and first-year coach Kyle Flood becomes the third coach in school history to start his career with that mark. The last was John Bateman in 1960.

Nova threw two touchdown passes to Brandon Coleman, who finished with six catches for 89 yards. Jawan Jamison had 33 carries for 118 yards for Rutgers.

Tyler Wilson, returning after missing a loss to Alabama with a concussion, was 20 of 40 passing for 419 yards for Arkansas (1-3). Cobi Hamilton had 10 catches for a Southeastern Conference record 303 yards and three touchdowns for the Razorbacks.

Rutgers trailed 10-0 in the first quarter before storming back behind Nova, who had never thrown more than two touchdowns in a game. The sophomore shattered that mark, as well as his previous best 298-yard passing effort against Connecticut last season.

Nova threw a pair of touchdown passes to Coleman, but none of his five scoring passes were more important than a 60-yard strike to Mark Harrison in the fourth quarter. The two-play touchdown drive put the Scarlet Knights up 35-26 and helped stem the tide of what appeared to be a furious comeback by Arkansas -- which was looking to avoid its first three-game losing streak since 2008.

The Razorbacks led 10-0 early behind Wilson's 57-yard touchdown pass to Hamilton, whose yardage record bested the 293-yard receiving effort by LSU's Josh Reed in 2001. Wilson hadn't played since the first half of a loss to Louisiana-Monroe, but he promised after the Alabama loss to do his best to return as quickly as possible and to keep Arkansas nationally relevant.