Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Jerico Nelson stood on the edge of Arkansas’ postgame celebration in Cowboys Stadium with a grin on his face and a sledgehammer in his right hand.

His smile, of course, expressed the joy the senior linebacker and his teammates felt in the moments following a 29-16 Cotton Bowl victory.

And the sledgehammer? It signified all the work the Razorbacks had put into clinching just the third 11-win season in school history and potentially the highest ranking in more than three decades.

Nelson has carried the tool from the locker room onto the field before games throughout his four seasons at Arkansas (11-2). Printed on one side is the word “Grind” and the other side bears the mantra “the dream is free, but the journey is not.”

What a journey it has been for the 17 Razorback seniors. They took plenty of lumps during a 5-7 campaign as freshmen and redshirt freshmen in 2008. They ended 34-16, including 21-5 over the final two seasons. That’s a 80-percent winning clip the last two years if you’re scoring at home.

By beating the Wildcats (10-3) the Razorbacks very likely secured a Top 5 ranking to end the year, something they haven't done since 1977. Arkansas joined the 1964 national champs and 1977 team on the rare 11-victory plateau.

Coach Bobby Petrino lauded the seniors for their contributions against the Wildcats. Veterans made veteran plays in all three phases of the game and Petrino appreciated the way they set the tone to begin bowl preparation.

“I'm proud of our seniors, a group of young men that have really set the standards for how we're going to work and operate here at the University of Arkansas,” Petrino said.

Those guys also set the standard for how to make plays. They showed it again against the Wildcats, jumping out to a 19-0 lead and then withstanding a late Kansas State rally.

Nelson’s interception in the closing seconds put a punctuation on the victory. It was the final of a string of significant plays by guys who have laid quite a foundation for Petrino and the Razorbacks.

Magician Joe Adams — that’s what we should call the guy because labeling him as a punt returner or wide receiver doesn’t do him justice — returned a punt 51 yards for a touchdown early in the game. On a night it took until the 12:13 mark of the second quarter for the offense to record a first down, Adams provided a boost with the team’s first touchdown.

“I wanted to give the guys something to remember,” Adams said of his SEC record-tying fourth punt return touchdown this season.