By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com

ARLINGTON, Texas — Arkansas’ high-powered offense, for all the points and yards it produces, has a bad habit of getting off to slow starts in bowl games under coach Bobby Petrino.

It’s a trend the sixth-ranked Razorbacks (10-2) intend to change when they play No. 8 Kansas State (10-2) in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night.

“We take that into consideration a lot,” Arkansas tight end Chris Gragg said about the early struggles. “We’re an offensive team. We’ve played great offense this whole season. We want to finish out right.”

Arkansas was held scoreless in the first half of the 2010 Liberty Bowl, struggling to find any rhythm under frigid conditions against East Carolina. The Razorbacks rebounded to score 17 points in the third quarter — seven of which came from safety Tramain Thomas’ interception return for a touchdown — to eventually beat the Pirates 20-17 in overtime.

Arkansas fell into a 28-10 hole at halftime against Ohio State in the 2011 Sugar Bowl. Once again, the Razorbacks rallied in the second half to get back into the game. But the Buckeyes held on for a 31-26 win.

“I’m not sure what it is,” receiver Cobi Hamilton said. “I know we’ve worked hard at practice to get faster starts and finish well. We always finish well.”

Petrino said Sunday the best way to remedy the struggles like slow starts is simple: silence.

“What we have really done is quit talking about it and then we did it,” Petrino said, referencing some early struggles from the 2011 season. “That has been the way we solved it this year. If you a team that fumbles a lot, the more you talk about it, the more you fumble. So we are done talking about it.”

That’s easy to say, of course. Much harder to do.

Arkansas’ offensive players said they’re aware of the impact slow starts have had on the Hogs. And not just in bowl games. It was a dangerous trend earlier this season, when the Razorbacks were falling into big holes before roaring back to win games.

So Arkansas receiver Jarius Wright said the Razorbacks are doing everything possible to make sure a slow start doesn’t happen against Kansas State.

“We don’t want to remember, you know what I’m saying,” Wright said of the slow starts. “So we just try to come out and practice each day and start fast and work on starting fast. Regardless of how slow we start, we always talk about starting fast.

“I wouldn’t say it’s that much more emphasis on it because we always talk about it already. But we’d love to come out Friday and have a great, fast start.”

In the Box
New offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Paul Petrino will be in the coaches box on gameday.

It’s a familiar setup for Petrino, who was in the box during his first stint with the Razorbacks as receivers coach and again at Illinois. But it’s a change from former offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Garrick McGee, who worked face-to-face with Tyler Wilson on the sideline during the 2011 season.

Wilson said his position coach moving to the box shouldn’t cause problems during the Cotton Bowl.

“I’ll have a headset on on the sideline so I’ll be hearing everything that he has to say,” Wilson said. “I feel comfortable we’ll make it work come gametime and there won’t be much letdown.”

Bowl For Seniors
Two Razorbacks will play in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 28.

Defensive end Jake Bequette and Joe Adams have each earned invitations to participate. The Senior Bowl is regarded as one of the NFL’s most prestigious pre-draft events and Adams said he’s eager for the chance to impress in front of personnel from every NFL team.

“I feel good to just be one of the guys selected,” Adams said. “I’m going out there to do my best.”

A few other Hogs will participate on the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 21. Wright and linebackers Jerry Franklin and Jerico Nelson have been invited to St. Petersburg, Fla., for the game.

“I know NFL scouts are going to be at all of them,” Wright said of the games for seniors. “Just being able to showcase my skills against other conferences and other cornerbacks. … That means a lot.”

Nice Gifts
Arkansas and Kansas State players were presented with impressive gifts from the Cotton Bowl. Each player received an iPad2 as a reward for playing in the bowl.

“That was great,” Gragg said Monday. “That’s something everybody wants. We got the newest one, the iPad2. I’m going to use it a lot.”

Gragg and several other players often turn bowl gifts into presents for other family members around the holidays. But it was hard to find anyone who had plans to give their iPads away Monday.

“My brother and my mom were talking to me and I told them I couldn’t let them get it,” Arkansas receiver Joe Adams said. “I told them I’d get them some other gifts. I have to keep the iPad2.”

Caldwell’s Experience
Arkansas will play Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl for the first time Friday. But it’s not the first time for one of Arkansas’ defensive assistants.

Defensive ends coach Steve Caldwell was on Tennessee’s staff when the Volunteers met Kansas State in the 2001 Cotton Bowl. The Wildcats won the game 35-21, but Caldwell said he remembered something else about the experience – the weather.

“We played in the old stadium and it was about an inch of ice on everything,” Caldwell said. “It was one of the coldest games I’ve ever been associated with.”

It was one of two Cotton Bowls Caldwell was a part of with the Vols. He also was on staff for the 2005 game, when Tennessee beat Texas A&M 35-7.