wide of it, and trying to induce an error. On the second day

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Bret Bielema doesnt plan to remind Arkansas about last years shocking early-season loss to Toledo ahead of Saturdays season opener against Louisiana Tech.Frankly, he thinks the players have already heard enough about their slow start in 2015.Entering his fourth year at Arkansas, Bielema also thinks the deep and talented Razorbacks are primed to open the year like the team that closed last season with six wins in its final seven games.I do think that one of the things our guys have talked about is starting fast, Bielema said. Last year we didnt start fast in our first four games, and the result was we were a 1/3 team coming out of it. So, I think that element is out there good enough.Slow starts to the season have been a problem in each of the last two seasons for Arkansas, though the Razorbacks have recovered both times to earn bowl appearances. Arkansas was 4-4 two seasons ago before winning four of its final six games, and last years strong finish came after a 2-5 start.With a first-time starting quarterback in Austin Allen, an overhauled backfield and three new starting offensive linemen, the new-look Razorbacks arent likely to ease into this season on Saturday, either.Awaiting Arkansas is a Louisiana Tech team thats 18-9 over the last two seasons, including a 6-2 mark in Conference USA last season.However, the Bulldogs lost much of the talent that led the way to a New Orleans Bowl victory over Arkansas State last season -- including eight starters on defense. That said, fourth-year coach Skip Holtz is confident Louisiana Techs established winning ways will help it contend with its lack of experience in a difficult Southeastern Conference environment.Likewise, the Razorbacks believe they are ready to continue building momentum after improving their win total in each of Bielemas first three seasons. And they are ready to show theyve learned from last years early struggles.We always learn new things through our struggles, Arkansas running back Rawleigh Williams said. And I think thats what we learned, to keep it week by week.Some things to watch in Saturdays opener for both teams:HIGGINS WATCHQuarterback Ryan Higgins was expected to be the starter for the Bulldogs on Saturday, but the senior -- while not suspended -- wont start following his arrest on a drunken-driving charge in early August. Instead, 6-foot-1, 222-pound freshman JMar Smith is expected to take the first snap for Louisiana Tech after redshirting last season, though Holtz didnt rule out Higgins seeing action.ALLENS DEBUTAfter seeming limited action in eight games over the last two seasons, Allen will make his first start for the Razorbacks on Saturday. The fourth-year junior was named the starter by Bielema in the spring, and he succeeds his older brother, Brandon.HOLTZ TRIBUTEFormer Arkansas coach Lou Holtz, father of Louisiana Tech coach Skip Holtz, will be recognized at halftime of Saturdays game. Lou Holtz coached the Razorbacks from 1977-83 and was 60-21-2. I think it is an unbelievable tribute and I am excited for him, that he will have the opportunity to experience that and the appreciation of the Arkansas fans, Skip Holtz said.DEFENSIVE RETURNAfter finishing 10th nationally in total defense two years ago, Arkansas fell to 58th last season -- allowing 391.6 yards per game. The Razorbacks, led by third-year defensive coordinator Robb Smith and a unit that returns nine starters, believe they are poised to return to their 2014 form.HELPFUL HATCHERArkansas wide receiver Keon Hatcher missed most of last season with a foot injury, but the senior will make his return on Saturday. Hatcher had 43 catches for 558 yards two seasons ago, and hes expected to pair with seniors Drew Morgan and Dominique Reed to form one of the top receiving groups in the SEC. Chris Paul Rockets Jersey . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. Robert Horry Jersey . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. http://www.therocketsofficial.com/Authentic-Austin-Rivers-Rockets-Jersey/ .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. Tracy McGrady Rockets Jersey . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. Charles Barkley Rockets Jersey . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. Bowling around the wicket with two balls left for lunch, Mohammed Shami banged in as good a short ball as you will see. It was angling into Darren Bravo, rapidly cramping him for room, and took off steeply in the direction of his throat.This was the 37th ball of Bravos innings, and the 21st he was facing from Shami. This was the ninth ball he was facing from Shami that was short and at his body.The previous eight had caused him all kinds of discomfort. He had fended at some of them, gloves rising instinctively to guard his face and pinging the ball away in unintended directions, often in the air, somehow missing the fielders, including a leg gully waiting for precisely that kind of thing. He had tried to pull a couple of them, and had ended up flapping in hope, with his body in no position to execute the shot properly. Again the ball had eluded the fielders.Bravo can bat with catlike grace at times, but this wasnt his day for a ninth life. Up went his hands again, as the ninth short ball from Shami climbed at him. His feet left the ground as he tried to ride the bounce, and his bat face closed as he tried to tuck the ball into the leg side. But this ball was just too quick, just too accurate, and bounced just too awkwardly. It popped once again in an unintended direction, but this time a fielder was stationed exactly where it went, and KL Rahul took an easy catch at third slip.Shami was clearly bowling to a plan, a recently conceived one, by the looks of it. Bravo doesnt have a reputation for discomfort against the short ball. But perhaps someone in Indias camp had worked this out recently, perhaps while watching West Indies tour of Australia at the turn of the year.Bravo was West Indies best-performing batsman on the tour, scoring 247 runs at 49.40 in the three-Test series, with a hundred in Hobart and an 81 in Melbourne. But in Sydney, in the rain-ravaged third Test, James Pattinson had attacked him with the short ball, not using it as often as Shami but slipping in at least one every over, and had eventually dismissed him with one; taking his eye off the ball, Bravo had top-edged a pull.It was perhaps only the second time Bravo had been dismissed by a short ball at the body in Test cricket - Neil Wagner had got him to glove one to the wicketkeeper in Wellington, back in December 2013.dddddddddddd But if someone in Indias camp had paid attention to the Sydney Test, they might have picked up some sort of clue.Or maybe it wasnt during this innings that they spotted something, but at some point before or after the Sydney Test. Maybe it was during a passage of play that might have looked entirely unremarkable to everyone else. Test cricketers, and coaches and analysts who work with Test teams, view the game with eyes that see far more detail than the average punter - or journalist - while quickly identifying which one is significant and which ones arent.The point is, no matter when it occurred to them, India had a plan against Bravo. And they executed it with precision. At no point during this series, on the other hand, have West Indies appeared to pursue a specific plan against a specific Indian batsman. Instead, they have plugged away in more generic ways, such as, most frequently, bowling outside off stump, often fairly wide of it, and trying to induce an error. On the second day, they tried this all morning against Cheteshwar Pujara, and he simply refused to bite. India enjoyed a wicketless session, even if their scoring was kept in check.The possibility of Bravo having a weakness against the short ball wasnt widely known before this series, or even before this Test match. Most international teams, however, have been bowling at Pujaras stumps for at least the last year-and-a-half; they know he has excellent judgment of his off stump and infinite patience outside it, but they also know he occasionally leaves a gap between bat and pad.Judging by how West Indies bowled to him, they didnt know this. Either they hadnt done their homework, or they had a dossier full of plans for each Indian batsmen but simply hadnt been able to execute them.Over the course of the series, India have shown themselves to be far ahead of this West Indies side in pretty much every department. Shamis clinical dismantling of Bravo, West Indies most accomplished Test batsman, only reinforced the extent of their superiority. ' ' '