FAYETTEVILLE - Another early kickoff awaits the backpedaling Arkansas Razorbacks today, and they can't afford to show up late this time.

No. 12 Florida (3-1, 1-1 SEC ), still stinging after last weekend's home loss to Ole Miss, is in town for the 11: 30 a.m. kickoff at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, and the Razorbacks (2-2, 0-1 ) are hoping to avoid the lackluster starts that have doomed them the past two weeks.

"What we're looking forward to is the day we come out and say, 'You did a good job in the first quarter, the way you're supposed to open a game,'" Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said. "Because we haven't done that yet."

And how.

Alabama and Texas assaulted the Razorbacks early in the first half the past two weeks. Alabama led 21-0 after one quarter and Texas was up 17-0 one minute into the second quarter as both clubs deflated the Hogs' hopes before halftime.

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The Razorbacks have been outscored 34-0 in the first quarter and 86-23 in the first half this season.

"It is getting to be a broken record, and we've got to get it fixed," Petrino said. "We've got to execute early in the game, and I think that's really important in this game so we build confidence. You get confidence to say, 'Hey, we can play with these guys and let's go get in it.'"

Florida had visions of the school's first unbeaten season before last week's stunner of a loss to the Rebels. The past two seasons have showed a blemished team from the SEC can still win the national championship, but Florida might have to win 10 consecutive games to win its second national title in three years.

The Gators, a 24 1 / 2-point favorite, have issues of their own. They had an uncharacteristic three turnovers during a fivefumble game against Ole Miss. Quarterback Tim Tebow, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, has been good, but he hasn't been great.

Then there is the Florida running game, which averaged 3. 5 yards per carry against Ole Miss. Tebow hasn't been the same aggressive runner he was last year, and Florida isn't calling his number on runs nearly as often.

ESPN analyst Jesse Palmer, a former Florida quarterback, told the Orlando Sentinel this week that the Gators are using a "finesse" running approach.

Florida ranks ninth in the SEC with 154 rushing yards per game.

"It's arduous to win with finesse in the rugged SEC, where teams such as Alabama are pounding everything in sight with power running," Palmer told the newspaper.

Tebow vowed last Saturday no team would outwork Florida the rest of the season, and he reiterated that stance Wednesday.

"I think there's just a sense of urgency, a sense of everybody's intense and determined not just to win, but to take a little aggression out and go out and hit somebody," Tebow said. "I think we'll have a very physical game on Saturday."

Florida's 359 total yards per game ranks fifth in the SEC, but that figure is down nearly 100 yards from the Gators' leagueleading average of 457 yards per game last season. Their scoring is down by a touchdown, to 35. 5 points per game.

Still, the Gators strike chords of concern in defenses with players like Tebow, skill-position star Percy Harvin, receiver Louis Murphy and speedy backs Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps.

"They've got a lot of speed, really, really good wide receivers, fast backs, fast receivers, a big, physical offensive line and Heisman Trophy [winner ] at quarterback," Arkansas cornerbacks coach Lorenzo Ward said. "So this is going to be a great challenge for us on defense... to do better so we can get off the field and get our offense the ball more."

Arkansas' problems have been multi-dimensional the past few weeks. Pass protection was rotten in the sevensack loss at Texas. The running game hasn't been able to take off because of few holes and major deficits, even though tailback Michael Smith is averaging 5. 4 yards per carry and 96. 7 yards per game.

Quarterback Casey Dick hasn't been smooth with his decisions in the pocket, and he paid the price for holding the ball too long at Texas. A week earlier, a couple of hurried throws against Alabama were intercepted and returned for touchdowns.

Petrino said Arkansas' coaches have detected "hesitation" in watching tape on both sides of the ball, so the Razorbacks are trying to trim down the thinking process to speed things up on the field.

Getting 11 guys on the same page has been difficult for the Razorbacks' offense, but offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said the unit has to keep believing in what it's doing.

"It's a good package, and we've just got to keep working hard on it," he said.

All-America center Jonathan Luigs and Smith spoke of being embarrassed by last week's 52-10 loss at Texas.

Tight end Andrew Davie concurred.

"Nobody's happy about getting beat, and then getting beat like that," Davie said.

Arkansas' defense has struggled with tackling, the pass rush and getting off the field on third down, but Florida Coach Urban Meyer seems to be looking past Arkansas' defensive problems.

"What I think happens is games got out of hand the last two weeks because of some big plays and poor field position," Meyer said. "I don't think they're playing poorly."

The Razorbacks had only two games to adapt their new schemes to game speed. Now, they're in the middle of a murderer's row schedule that leaves little margin for error and the potential for resounding defeats.

"We have gotten better during the week of practice," Bobby Petrino said. "Now the key is to make sure that it shows up Saturday."