Big House turf looking pretty slippery
Felt like maybe this is worth its own post separate from the game thread. I feel like I've seen a lot of players slipping on the Big House turf--Ronnie Bell, Corum, and JJ have all slipped at moments in the game today. I see those little rubber chunks spray up all the time too. Is this a normal thing? It feels worse than I've noticed before.
September 24th, 2022 at 1:27 PM ^
Even though field turf drains pretty well, I imagine the rain has made it slippery.
September 24th, 2022 at 1:29 PM ^
Doesn't seem to be a problem for Maryland. Covering our receivers in lockstep and executing better than we are.
September 24th, 2022 at 1:42 PM ^
OP: "Felt like maybe this is worth its own post separate from the game thread."
Narrator: "It was not."
September 24th, 2022 at 1:45 PM ^
Yes, those little rubber chunks are a feature, not a bug. Tiny rubber pieces like pretend dirt to act as a cushion
September 24th, 2022 at 2:03 PM ^
Perhaps the poster meant not turf but "turp" (transurethral resection of the prostate)
September 24th, 2022 at 3:33 PM ^
You're thinking too much. He meant 'Terp'...
September 24th, 2022 at 3:45 PM ^
Blake Corum looked slippery too, in a very good way
September 24th, 2022 at 4:02 PM ^
Any reason they don’t have a grass field? I could understand if the team played well into December or even January like the NFL, but at most you’re going to have maybe 2 games in November.
Is it just a matter of cost/maintenance?
September 24th, 2022 at 4:19 PM ^
We tried. It did not work.
September 24th, 2022 at 4:23 PM ^
There's been FieldTurf or a FieldTurf-like field at the stadium since 2003; there were updates/renovations/replacement done to the FieldTurf in 2010 and 2018. From 1968-1991, there was the "Tartan Turf" which was essentially AstroTurf and was resurfaced in 1982. In 1991, real grass aka "Prescription Athletic Turf," was installed, but I remember that grass was awful with a lot of divots flying around. I think between the harsh winters and the evolution of artificial turf technology(i.e. it's not green carpet laid out on cement), the AD went that route. And if you look at the Bentley Museum link down below, it seems between donations and overall cost, it's just cheaper to maintain the artificial grass, especially with the advancement of FieldTurf.
Sources include Bentley Historical Museum and this article.
September 24th, 2022 at 6:21 PM ^
I thought it was because of the water table and the depth of the field.
September 24th, 2022 at 4:29 PM ^
Anyone else remember the athletic dept getting helicopters to hover and dry out the grass field? Remember feeling impressed by that as a student.
September 24th, 2022 at 4:32 PM ^
Side note, I was at the big house on the field this summer (late August) and they were replacing the rubber pieces after finding some glass in there. They "snow blow" it all into piles along the sidelines, and bring in the bags full of the replacement rubber. Seeing those piles and the full bags lined up, there is a lot of rubber in the field. I hadn't previously been on the field since maybe my senior year in 2004, but even then I recall the field being very forgiving. I can imagine plastic grass and rubber pellets both being a little slippery in the rain. Nothing like what we used to see pre-2003 though...