Good explanation of why the field problems in Glendale

[cptau 169]

This is the best explanation of why the field problems at the BCS championship in Glendale. I read in other places that the field was too wet and that may have been a part of it, but this explanation make sense and it comes from an expert, at Auburn!!

http://auburnturf.blogspot.com/2011/01/why-was-bcs-championship-turf-so.html

____________________________________________________________-

Why was the BCS Championship turf so slippery?

We (the Auburn Turfgrass Management Team) have gotten a lot of questions about why the players were slipping a lot for the BCS National Championship game in Glendale, AZ. Well, here is the long and short of it. For the Natty at University of Phoenix Stadium, field/stadium managers laid thick-cut sod about a week before the game. It is cut thick so it has enough weight to hold itself in place. This is a common practice for frequently used venues that want to remain natural grass fields. Not a big deal.

The sod that was purchased was from seed grown by Turf Merchants, Inc. (http://www.turfmerchants.com/) based in Oregon. I have not been able to locate the turf producers, but it was probably a turf producers in the Phoenix area. The problem with the slipping and sliding on Monday night is determining what species was sodded on the field.

Athletic fields in Alabama are Bermuda grass. It is the number one turf grass species for athletics-- especially football. The benefit is that it produces lateral stem both about ground and below ground, commonly referred to as stolons and rhizomes, respectively. These lateral stems are an excellent benefit where changes in directional movements are a part of the game, e.g. football. This is often referred to as the shear strength of the turf. Conclusion: Bermuda grass has excellent shear strength.

Perennial rye grass is a bunch-type grass that does not produce rhizome and stolons. No lateral stems make it difficult for the cleat to grip the turf/ground in order to make quick turns. I have observed football games played on pure 100% rye grass fields and they not fun to watch. Perennial rye grass just does not hold up to football conditions-- but, the field was beautiful-- just not ideal for traction. Conclusion: Perennial rye grass alone does not have excellent shear strength.

The field Monday night was a bermuda grass field over seeded with perennial rye grass. So, first some background information. Perennial rye grass seed is often spread over bermuda grass in the fall as the bermuda grass is going dormant and turning brown. By doing this, the seed germinate and provide winter color. When this is done, the shear strength remains adequate initially, but as the winter progresses the perennial rye grass will begin to dominate the stand, the dormant bermuda grass weakens, and shear strength will decrease. Also, that perennial rye grass was extremely dense meaning a high seeding rate was spread over the field and at that density it likely greatly suppressing the bermuda grass. Conclusion: Perennial ryegrass over seeding can cause a decrease in shear strength as the perennial rye grass grows and develops and as the seeding density of the rye grass increases. And from my assessment, that was some very well-developed, dense perennial rye grass on Monday night, thus leading to an overall decrease in shear strength

-- Scott McElroy

http://www.auburnturf.com

twitter: @auburnturf

See these other article written about the problem:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/568841-bcs-championship-2011-live-observations-from-auburn-vs-oregon/entry/41486-bcs-championship-game-slip-slidin-away

http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/sports/25754914-41/oregon-ducks-stadium-field-footing.csp

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/01/uos_home-field_advantage_the_b.html

[ShocksMyBrain 9,519]

Very interesting.

TCU was slipping all over the field during their bowl game as well. People were blaming the Nike cleats at the time. We certainly know by now that was not the issue.

Until they figure it out, no game of any real importance should be played on that field.

[Mikey 16,781]

Anybody that has planted a ryegrass lawn or pasture should be familiar with the slick, moist characteristics of that type of grass. It makes a beautiful lawn and good pasture, but I wouldn't think it appropriate for football.

Glad our grass folks got on the problem.

[AUloggerhead 2,506]

Interesting. I thought the design on that stadium floor allowed for the field to be slid outside so the grass would be maintained/grow naturally in sunlight. Replacing the sod wholesale seems to go against the whole ocncept. I know both teams had to play on the same field under the same conditions, but still -- it was ridiculous for the biggest game of the year to be played on a field like that.

But, you can now own a piece of that rhyzone-less sod: It Just Screams Buy Me!

[AURaptor 1,137]

I'm not sure which concerns me more.

The fact that those in charge some how overlooked what should be a fairly basic and foreseeable problem with using certain types of grasses at an event of this magnitude, or that anyone from Auburn would use the word 'Natty'.

[OldNewby 27]

IOW, the field was great for a beauty contest, but bad for a football game. Grass matters. Maybe the NCAA is taking the term amateur status a bit too far.

[nanatiger 3]

Very interesting.

TCU was slipping all over the field during their bowl game as well. People were blaming the Nike cleats at the time. We certainly know by now that was not the issue.

Until they figure it out, no game of any real importance should be played on that field.

Agree. But since they rotate the BCS game, it will be played there again in what, 5 years? Plenty of time to fix the problem.

[nanatiger 3]

IOW, the field was great for a beauty contest, but bad for a football game. Grass matters. Maybe the NCAA is taking the term amateur status a bit too far.

[tgr4lfe 220]

The guy that wrote that, Scott McElroy, was my brother's roommate at AU, and they lived right below me. He knows his stuff. Great Auburn man!!

[aubiescottie 1]

Interesting. I thought the design on that stadium floor allowed for the field to be slid outside so the grass would be maintained/grow naturally in sunlight. Replacing the sod wholesale seems to go against the whole ocncept. I know both teams had to play on the same field under the same conditions, but still -- it was ridiculous for the biggest game of the year to be played on a field like that.

But, you can now own a piece of that rhyzone-less sod: It Just Screams Buy Me!

Agreed on the conditions.

The problem is - there are so many games played on the turf throughout the season it wears out so it has to be replaced. You saw the turf for the fiesta bowl - it was a mess. Which leads to another problem - the turf growing locations are in places with traditional winters so the bermuda turns bronw (dormant) due to mother nature. It's an easy fix - they should source the grass from South America. Trick the grass.

[McWeagle 4]

Perennial rye grass seed is often spread over bermuda grass in the fall as the bermuda grass is going dormant and turning brown. By doing this, the seed germinate and provide winter color. When this is done, the shear strength remains adequate initially, but as the winter progresses the perennial rye grass will begin to dominate the stand, the dormant bermuda grass weakens, and shear strength will decrease.

...and there's your problem. We're playing the last game of the "fall" football season in mid-January.

[DCWarEagle 0]

Thanks for posting that very informative article. Auburn folks know their stuff. Perhaps the University of Phoenix/Fiesta Bowl should look into hiring someone who could give them a proper field for next time.

[BeasFan 3]

Thanks for posting that very informative article. Auburn folks know their stuff. Perhaps the University of Phoenix/Fiesta Bowl should look into hiring someone who could give them a proper field for next time.

Hear, hear! For all the "cow college" and "ag school" slurs that get tossed Auburn's way, this should demonstrate that there's more to an Auburn education than the general public (wink, wink) acknowledges.

Valuable article/thread for the Classics.

[Craasher 0]

In the South anything to do with football is serious business....even the grass is lovingly tended to and engineered to make our players better than you.

I'd like to see a football player who was an agriculture major give a post game interview like a NASCAR driver

"Well the Pat Dye Field here in Jordan-Hare was running pretty fast today with the new Bermuda they laid down during the Bye week. I like to give all the credit to my coaches and a big shout out to the Auburn Turf crew for getting me ready to run today."

[BeasFan 3]

In the South anything to do with football is serious business....even the grass is lovingly tended to and engineered to make our players better than you.

I'd like to see a football player who was an agriculture major give a post game interview like a NASCAR driver

"Well the Pat Dye Field here in Jordan-Hare was running pretty fast today with the new Bermuda they laid down during the Bye week. I like to give all the credit to my coaches and a big shout out to the Auburn Turf crew for getting me ready to run today."

This article was linked to not long ago: http://www.thewareaglereader.com/2009/10/pats-dry-field/ Fun read!

[jj3jordan 2,157]

Interesting. I thought the design on that stadium floor allowed for the field to be slid outside so the grass would be maintained/grow naturally in sunlight. Replacing the sod wholesale seems to go against the whole ocncept. I know both teams had to play on the same field under the same conditions, but still -- it was ridiculous for the biggest game of the year to be played on a field like that.

But, you can now own a piece of that rhyzone-less sod: It Just Screams Buy Me!

True, but I saw an article about the field stating that the field could not be rolled in and out because of the extra seating being put in the stadium for the game. So they couldn't get it outside to sun and dry it. Other folks said it was also wet due to heavy watering trying to get it to tether to the substrate and temperature basically caused it to produce dew. That plus the shear strength of rye being low caused the poor traction. You are right though, it was ridiculous for a big game to be played on bad footing.

Anybody care to opine who it hurt more, us or them?

[tgr4lfe 220]

jj, I honestly, thought the AU players slipped a lot more than I saw the UO players slipping. I am not sure if it was the grass or not, but it seemed like every time Cam tried to cut it up field and accelerate, it was like his plant foot always slid backwards and he ended up falling forward. Maybe he was diving forward, but it sure looked like a traction problem. Seemed like every time an AU runner had a "lane" or "hole" they slipped. Maybe I was just too focused on AU offense and caught it more than UO's offense?

[earthsound 0]

Scott made another post today regarding the grass at the BCS NCG:

http://auburnturf.blogspot.com/2011/01/update-why-was-bcs-turf-so-slippery.html