Slick field - one of their trick plays?

RTR91

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Nov 23, 2007
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Was traveling during the first quarter, so I listened to it in the car. After about Derrick's second or third slip, Eli asked Chris Stewart if the field was wet. Chris said it did not appear to be wet.

Find it odd our guys slipped as much as they did while Auburn's did not. Surely, someone from Alabama would have noticed Auburn's players wearing the wet field cleats.
 

Rama Jama

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I am no expert, but at Bryant-Denney, we use sod and as far as I know do not over seed with rye because it is slick. If they blew green rye grass seed mixture onto the field so it would look green, that would be slick.
 

bamagradinATL

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I have no idea if the field was wet or not but there is no disputing that it was abnormally SLIPPERY with chunks of turf torn up all over the field. It was in very bad condition and I can't imagine why that would be the case. Auburn has a major in turf management so they should have some of the leading experts in the country to manage their stadium turf. I know it is late November but there is no reason that I know of why the field should not have been in good shape for the iron bowl.
You can get a Master's in Turf Management from Auburn, but based on what I saw on Saturday that degree isn't work the paper its printed on.
 

runtheoption22

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My HS field is built on top of a sheet of limestone. The ground is muddy after a rain, however, it never really EVER dries out because the water does not have anywhere to go. Hence, you have about 3 inches of "moist" turf underneath the grass. We have at least 4/5 wipeouts similar to DHs a game. Huge, wet chunks of turf give way...but not muddy.

It looked exactly like what was happening at Jordan Hare.
 

Chukker Veteran

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My HS field is built on top of a sheet of limestone. The ground is muddy after a rain, however, it never really EVER dries out because the water does not have anywhere to go. Hence, you have about 3 inches of "moist" turf underneath the grass. We have at least 4/5 wipeouts similar to DHs a game. Huge, wet chunks of turf give way...but not muddy.

It looked exactly like what was happening at Jordan Hare.
I will give the groundskeepers at Auburn credit for understanding how their field responds to being watered down, and how long the turf will remain slick. I don't think they tried out a new way of keeping the field right before their biggest home game of the year. I think they knew how to be sure the field was both wet and slick and did what it took to get what they wanted.
 

TitleWave

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How fast does rye grass take to grow? Could they have seeded it Sunday and it grown enough by Saturday to effect the players?
Only if they were playing at Tater Tot's pad level.

A wet field ain't gotta be a mudhole - the density of grass could allow it to turn into a "sodden" if not resodded field. And that ain't semantics. Tricks were played, one way or another.
 

CB4

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My HS field is built on top of a sheet of limestone. The ground is muddy after a rain, however, it never really EVER dries out because the water does not have anywhere to go. Hence, you have about 3 inches of "moist" turf underneath the grass. We have at least 4/5 wipeouts similar to DHs a game. Huge, wet chunks of turf give way...but not muddy.

It looked exactly like what was happening at Jordan Hare.
You could be on to something 22. If you remember the 2011 BCS with the Barn and Oregon, players were sliding around like it was an ice rink. The players on both sides talked about the field being wet but the field had not been water topically after the new sod was installed after the Fiesta Bowl over a week previously. They did water the root system underneath at installation.

Could be that the drainage is so inadequate at JH that you had a similar set up. But then again, it is called "Pat Dye Field at Jordan Hare Stadium" so if the field was in the same condition as it's namesake's liver, I could see it being pretty saturated..... :cool2:
 

MobtownK

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If it was intentional (seems likely) & a complaint was made, how hard would it be for NCAA to prove it, assuming they could? Seems that too many people would have to be in on it to keep quiet.
Doesn't seem worth the risk.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
 

Illusions

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Nov 4, 2009
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Last time I seen that much slipping around for no reason wesson oil and visqueen was involved. the barn cheated got away with it as usual and it backfired. none of the players were hurt for Bama which is a good thing rolling into the SEC
championship game
 

gman4tide

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If their bermuda grass was dormant and already having to overseed ryegrass, then they're doing something wrong. Here in the great north (hartselle), we'd just had frost numbers 3 and 4 the sunday and monday prior to. My bermuda grass is JUST NOW turning. I'd dare say they haven't seen a frost in lee county. Their 'muda grass should have been fine. Uga game, the grass looked completely different.
 

CB4

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No issues with footing in the Idaho game either as I. Regardless of whether it was natural or artificially caused, the field conditions changed significantly from the last two home games.
 

RTR91

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Nov 23, 2007
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Caller mentioned the field conditions to Finebaum and Marcus Spears. They both agreed the field looked bad but said they didn't think a school would honestly do something like water down the field.
 

TIDE-HSV

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Caller mentioned the field conditions to Finebaum and Marcus Spears. They both agreed the field looked bad but said they didn't think a school would honestly do something like water down the field.
Had they been asked if a school would stage a slowdown on the interstate to prevent our team arriving on time, I'm sure they'd have given the same answer. However, I saw the plans being laid on ITAT - and they did it...
 

Snake 4 Bama

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Awburn did not do anything illegal. They were on the field and wet in their pants when they saw Bama coming out on the field.:BigA:
 
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CB4

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Caller mentioned the field conditions to Finebaum and Marcus Spears. They both agreed the field looked bad but said they didn't think a school would honestly do something like water down the field.
I don't buy it. Home teams in baseball manipulate field conditions all the time. The NCAA may have rules against it, but rules are only as good as they are enforceable. The undeniable fact is that the condition of that field changed significantly from the UGA and Idaho games. You didn't see players "skating around the field" in those games like you did Saturday.

Drastic times call for drastic measures. I would never put it past them to doctor the field to try to get an edge.
 
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