2016 Turf in Neyland Stadium

#1
gunner

gunner

The Big Orange Gun
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Apr 1, 2004
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#1
Has anyone else noticed how well the turf has held up the season inside of Neyland Stadium?

It was this time last year the players from both teams were slipping and sliding all over the field.

What has made the difference this season with the much improved field conditions inside of Neyland?
 
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#2
#2
Different schedule pattern and different strain of Bermuda grass. Plus, they didn't aerate it this summer.

There was a game on Sept. 1, then again on Sept. 17 & 24....and not again until Oct. 15th..then not until Nov. 4 then 11
 
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#8
#8
Evet Vols said:
No rain may have helped
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Agreed.

We really won't know how much better the field conditions are until there is a substantial amount of rain before a game, and that hasn't happened before a game this season.
 
#9
#9
Resiliency, complimentary sprigging, root discipline and reaction to sudden and unexpected weather change. The turf chart was followed this season.
 
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#13
#13
Especially when you beat the crap out of opponents and leave it on the field.
 
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#16
#16
Wasn't it unusually hot and dry over there for the entire summer and early fall? Probably helped...
 
#17
#17
Recoil said:
Wasn't it unusually hot and dry over there for the entire summer and early fall? Probably helped...
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Darn it. I can't really tell just how great Team 120 is, because 18 +/- players have been injured most of the season, and I can't really tell how great Field 120 is, because weather conditions have been so odd.
 
#19
#19
I was at the game and the field looked fantastic.

The TV/commercial timeouts ... are not fantastic. They must add another hour to every televised game. Four plays....and let's all wait for 5 minutes....6 plays...and let's wait for 6 minutes.....
 
#21
#21
armchair said:
I was at the game and the field looked fantastic.

The TV/commercial timeouts ... are not fantastic. They must add another hour to every televised game. Four plays....and let's all wait for 5 minutes....6 plays...and let's wait for 6 minutes.....
Click to expand...

I agree. At the end of the first quarter my buddy and I thought it felt like the end of the half haha.
 
#22
#22
armchair said:
I was at the game and the field looked fantastic.

The TV/commercial timeouts ... are not fantastic. They must add another hour to every televised game. Four plays....and let's all wait for 5 minutes....6 plays...and let's wait for 6 minutes.....
Click to expand...

I've seen it almost wither & die during the CBS timeouts.
 
#24
#24
gunner said:
Has anyone else noticed how well the turf has held up the season inside of Neyland Stadium?

It was this time last year the players from both teams were slipping and sliding all over the field.

What has made the difference this season with the much improved field conditions inside of Neyland?
Click to expand...


The biggest difference has been the warm temperatures and zero cloudy/rainy days, basically since football season started. Since they water it every day, they haven't had any issues getting it to grow.

The biggest issues in recent years have come as the bermuda has started to go dormant and they've overseeded and then failed to get the blend they they overseeded with to take hold. They haven't done that this year because there hasn't yet been a hard frost, so the bermuda blend is still growing.

It's great for the players and for the appearance, but the reality is that most of us on this board could have kept the field green this year. I still don't have a lot of confidence in the group over there.

That said, the problems we had the last couple of years weren't unique to Tennessee. But if you look at the other schools that had significant turf problems the last couple of years as well, like Georgia, Auburn, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Clemson you'll notice that they aren't having problems this year. All those crews didn't suddenly get smarter. They just had more favorable conditions.


mdrew27 said:
They didn't practice on it like in previous years.
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They practiced on the turf exactly one fewer time this season than they did last year. The only reason they skipped that scheduled day was because a local business had rented out the west club for a client meeting and Butch didn't want to practice in front of 300 people with camera phones.
 
#25
#25
DeerPark12 said:
The biggest difference has been the warm temperatures and zero cloudy/rainy days, basically since football season started. Since they water it every day, they haven't had any issues getting it to grow.

The biggest issues in recent years have come as the bermuda has started to go dormant and they've overseeded and then failed to get the blend they they overseeded with to take hold. They haven't done that this year because there hasn't yet been a hard frost, so the bermuda blend is still growing.

It's great for the players and for the appearance, but the reality is that most of us on this board could have kept the field green this year. I still don't have a lot of confidence in the group over there.

That said, the problems we had the last couple of years weren't unique to Tennessee. But if you look at the other schools that had significant turf problems the last couple of years as well, like Georgia, Auburn, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Clemson you'll notice that they aren't having problems this year. All those crews didn't suddenly get smarter. They just had more favorable conditions.




They practiced on the turf exactly one fewer time this season than they did last year. The only reason they skipped that scheduled day was because a local business had rented out the west club for a client meeting and Butch didn't want to practice in front of 300 people with camera phones.
Click to expand...

Not true, they held three pre season fall practices last year and this year they didn't hold any. It is amazing the damage that can be done on one or two additional practices. Butch went to town on that field his first three years. At every college Butch has coached at since WV, the turf has been artificial. I'm sure they practiced like hell on it. Comes here, does the same and screws it up. This year he doesn't practice on it and it looks great.
 
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