Our secret weapon at Kinnick- they have turf now
I can't believe I forgot to include this in my earlier post and this has gotten no mention at all. Iowa went to turf this year from the old grass field. If anybody needs a turf field in bad weather, it is us. It does not completely counter balance rain, but makes a huge difference when you are outsized and slogging through mud in the trenches or incorporating a speed game that benefits from quicker guys cutting on the field.
Not saying we win because of it, however, it is a big factor.
October 9th, 2009 at 12:27 PM ^
I believe MSU will be the only game on grass all year.
October 9th, 2009 at 12:37 PM ^
I like the idea of natural grass alot, but when FieldTurf has proven to be safer and more reliable there's no reason for a school not to have it, really.
October 9th, 2009 at 12:40 PM ^
I completely forgot about the change to the field turf. This is definitely good news.
October 9th, 2009 at 12:47 PM ^
Yeah we're 4-0 on the Turf, 0-1 on real grass. It does make a difference. As someone who played football on both surfaces I can tell you Fieldturf will definitely help our play.
October 9th, 2009 at 12:54 PM ^
we're also 4-0 at home and 0-1 on the road. we're 4-0 with a healthy tate and 0-1 when tate has a sore shoulder. there are many factors. i think grass may be one, but we need to be able to play on any surface.
October 9th, 2009 at 1:54 PM ^
Yes we do need to be able to play on any surface, but looking at our schedule we probably will only have to play on one other grass surface. So yes it doesn't factor in much in terms of the overall picture, but it's one of those fine details that can make a minor difference.
Especially when you're on the road at night with a very young and inexperienced team. You need all the help you can get.
October 9th, 2009 at 12:56 PM ^
Exactly. From much experience playing on both surfaces, the footing is 10x better on FieldTurf, 100x better in the rain. It is just a more comfortable surface that is softer to fall on and easier to cut on. The only draw back are those damn rubber pellets getting, well, everywhere.
October 9th, 2009 at 1:17 PM ^
Correlation != causation.
October 9th, 2009 at 12:49 PM ^
Weather.com predicts rain will clear before game time. Cold however... high 30's at game time.
October 9th, 2009 at 12:51 PM ^
I think this is going to make a big difference.
Go Blue!
October 9th, 2009 at 1:14 PM ^
that I just high-fived Denard on your avatar while sitting in my office?
October 9th, 2009 at 1:40 PM ^
as a loyal fan
October 9th, 2009 at 1:15 PM ^
When are they coming out with 'fresh cut grass' scented field turf?
October 9th, 2009 at 1:20 PM ^
I think Boise State should scent their turf with blueberry
October 9th, 2009 at 1:45 PM ^
I wish they would use napalm instead.
October 9th, 2009 at 1:43 PM ^
Maybe my debating was on another board.
Anyway, you guys are absolutely right: There's a huge difference between field turf dry (or even wet) to natural grass soaked.
I was really surprised last week when I was in the minority for arguing that the weather would be a huge problem for our quick offense. Some said that it would affect both teams equally. Others went even further, saying that it's harder for the defense to adjust in slick conditions.
In my experience, the opposite is true: Speedy teams are hurt far more than slow teams by mud.
October 9th, 2009 at 1:57 PM ^
"In my experience, the opposite is true: Speedy teams are hurt far more than slow teams by mud."
Easily. When you take that one advantage that the other team has away, it levels the playing field.
EDIT: 500 points! 500 more to go to reach 1000 :/
October 9th, 2009 at 2:44 PM ^
you walked into that one.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:21 PM ^
This helps the kicking game tremendously, which realistically will be a good chunk of our points tomorrow.