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SF Gate LogoHearst Newspapers Logo Skip to main content Newsletters Home * About SFGATE * Contact SFGATE * Newsletters * Classifieds * Standards & Practices * Advertise With Us * Privacy Notice * Terms of Use * Ad Choices * Your Privacy Choices News * Bay Area * California Wildfires * Education * Weather * Health * Sponsored Content Local * SF History * Sponsored Content Politics Sports * 49ers * Giants * A's * Warriors Culture * Movies * Streaming * Tech & Social Media * Marketplace * Cannabis * Senior Living Food + Drink Travel * Tahoe * California Parks * Disneyland * Hawaii * Wine Country * Monterey-Carmel Real Estate * New Homes * (Virtual) Open Homes * Luxury * Rentals * Mortgage Rates * Place a Real Estate Ad * Neighborhood Guides * Home & Garden Obits * Obituaries * Place an Obituary Coupons Shopping Puzzmo SF Gate LogoNewsletters Sports|College Sports GETTING THE REAL DIRT ON THAT LOUSY STANFORD FIELD STANFORD By Tom FitzGerald, Chronicle Staff WriterNov 23, 2011 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Stanford's Coby Fleener, looses his footing as he kicks up a chunk of turf, as the Stanford Cardinal go on to fall to the Oregon Ducks 53-30 at Stanford Stadium, on Saturday November 12, 2011 in Palo Alto, Ca.Michael Macor/The Chronicle The football field turf gets chewed up during the game, as the Stanford Cardinal takes on the Oregon Ducks at Stanford Stadium, on Saturday November 12, 2011 in Palo Alto, Ca.Michael Macor/The Chronicle Stanford kicker Jordan Williamson kicked the winning field goal in the 4th quarter of the annual 114th Big Game despite the rutted field. Stanford defeated the California Bears 31-28 Saturday November 19, 2011.Lance Iversen/The Chronicle The Stanford band plays before the Cal vs. Stanford football in Stanford, Calif., on Saturday, November 19, 2011.John Storey/Special to the Chronicle The Stanford band marched onto the field prior to the start of their 114th Big Game with the California Bears at Stanford Saturday November 19, 2011.Lance Iversen/The Chronicle Keenan Allen of Cal catches a touchdown pass as Stanford's Michael thomas defends on the play during the Cal vs. Stanford football game in Stanford, Calif., on Saturday, November 19, 2011.John Storey/Special to the Chronicle Stanford Cardinal Tyler Gaffney (25) takes an Andrew Luck handoff into the end zone for a touchdown in the second quarter against the California Bears at Stanford Stadium on November 19, 2011 in Stanford, California.Lance Iversen/The Chronicle University of California Ise Sofele hurdles Stanford Cardinal players in the 114th annual Big Game in Stanford California Saturday November 19, 2011 Ran on: 11-20-2011 Cal running back Isi Sofele tries to slip the tackle attempt of Stanford's Jarek Lancaster (35).Lance Iversen/The Chronicle University of California Zach Maynard completes a twenty five yard pass before he was push out of bounds in the second quarter against the Stanford Cardinal in the annual 114th Big Game in Stanford California Saturday November 19, 2011 Ran on: 11-20-2011 Bears quarterback Zach Maynard gets off a pass under pressure in the second quarter. It went for a 19-yard gain.Lance Iversen/The Chronicle Stanford Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck completes a second quarter pass against the California Bears at Stanford Stadium on November 19, 2011 in Stanford, California. Ran on: 11-20-2011 Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck fires a pass in the second quarter. Luck finished 20-for-30 for 257 yards and two touchdowns. Ran on: 11-20-2011 Stanford's Andrew Luck fires a pass in the second quarter. Luck finished 20-for-30 for 257 yards and two touchdowns.Lance Iversen/The Chronicle Stanford Matt Masifilo (98) celebrates a solo tackle forcing the Bears to kick in the first quarter against the California Bears at Stanford Stadium on November 19, 2011 in Stanford, California.Lance Iversen/The Chronicle Members of the Stanford Cardinal football team along with students reach for the Axe after defeating the University of California in the 114th annual Big Game at Stanford Stadium 31-28 November 19, 2011 in Stanford, California.Lance Iversen/The Chronicle Stanford players celebrates with their kicker Jordan Williamson after he kicked the winning field goal in the 4th quarter of the annual 114th Big Game. Stanford defeated the California Bears 31-28 Saturday November 19, 2011.Lance Iversen/The Chronicle University of California Keenan Allen catches a Zach Maynard touchdown pass in the second quarter against the Stanford Cardinal in the annual Big Game in Stanford California Saturday November 19, 2011Lance Iversen/The Chronicle Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw leads his team onto the field to face the California Bears at Stanford Stadium on November 19, 2011 in Stanford, California.Lance Iversen/The Chronicle Stanford Cardinal Ty Montgomery catches an 11 yard pass Andrew Luck for a first down in the first quarter against the California Bears at Stanford Stadium on November 19, 2011 in Stanford, California.Lance Iversen/The Chronicle Stanford Ty Montgomery (88) runs for a first quarter touchdown against the California Bears at Stanford Stadium on November 19, 2011 in Stanford, California.Lance Iversen/The Chronicle Cal head coach Jeff Tedford watches from the sidelines at the Cal vs. Stanford football game in Stanford, Calif., on Saturday, November 19, 2011.John Storey/Special to the Chronicle University of California JC Anderson jumps over everyone to score a late 4th quarter touchdown against the Stanford Cardinal in the annual Big Game in Stanford California Saturday November 19, 2011. Stanford won 31-28.Lance Iversen/The Chronicle Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck runs with the ball during the Cal vs. Stanford football game in Stanford, Calif., on Saturday, November 19, 2011.John Storey/Special to the Chronicle Stanford players celebrate with the Axe after beating Cal in the Big Game at Stanford, Calif., on Saturday, November 19, 2011.John Storey/Special to the Chronicle University of California wide receiver Marvin Jones catches a Zach Maynard two-point conversion pass late into the 4th quarter of their game with the Stanford Cardinal who won 31-28 Saturday November 19, 2011 in Stanford California.Lance Iversen/The Chronicle Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck runs for a 1st down during the Cal vs. Stanford football game in Stanford, Calif., on Saturday, November 19, 2011.John Storey/Special to the Chronicle Stanford's Andrew Luck (12) watches on the sidelines late in the game, as the Stanford Cardinal go on to lose to the Oregon Ducks 53-30 at Stanford Stadium, on Saturday November 12, 2011 in Palo Alto, Ca. Ran on: 11-13-2011 &quo;You know, we've still got football left. For that I'm grateful,&quo; Andrew Luck said. Ran on: 11-13-2011 &quo;You know, we've still got football left. For that I'm grateful,&quo; Andrew Luck said.Michael Macor/The Chronicle Despite another banner season for the Stanford football team, don't call what it plays on a field of dreams. For the last two home games, it's been more like a swamp. Watch More And now Stanford officials are considering switching to artificial turf next year. During the loss to Oregon two weeks ago and the victory over Cal in Saturday night's Big Game, rains made the field a mess, causing players to slip repeatedly, no matter what kind of cleats they wore. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But rains haven't caused this kind of problem on the field in the past. Stanford Stadium was rebuilt after the 2005 season, and a new field was installed. The grass at the old stadium generally held up nicely in the rain, according to Bob Murphy, a former Stanford sports information director who was a color commentator on the football radio broadcasts for decades. "In 40 years it was never like this," Murphy said. Stanford's current radio play-by-play man, Dave Flemming, said during the Big Game that the field was "an embarrassment." Cal radio broadcasters Joe Starkey and Troy Taylor also harped on the field and wondered if a knee injury to Bears receiver Michael Calvin might have been attributed to the field conditions. Advertisement Article continues below this ad KNBR talk show host Tom Tolbert quipped that the field looked like a battlefield from the movie "Braveheart." On the field in warm-ups before Saturday night's game, Stanford coach David Shaw said, Cal coach Jeff Tedford told him the condition of the field was better than he had expected. Then it started raining. The field quickly became a mess again. "There are not cleats made to handle that," Shaw said Tuesday. He said the problem is exacerbated by having so many home games late in the season. Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby said there was no problem with the stadium's subterranean drainage system. He said the problem was cool weather and unusually heavy rains that played havoc with the overseeding process. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The field was replanted with Bermuda grass a year ago. "It goes dormant in early-to-mid October, and we overseed with rye grass, which does better in cooler weather. If we get enough growing days, we can get a really good, solid stand of grass. What we have now is like a thin hair transplant." Because of the cold weather and "the untimely rain," he said, the root system is not very deep and the density of the grass isn't what it should be. He admitted that there's a risk when fields are overseeded, and this is what can happen. "There's nothing that anybody did wrong," he said. But he acknowledged that resodding the field rather than reseeding could have provided "some additional growth. We didn't feel we needed to. We had a good stand of grass at the beginning of the season." School officials "are going to certainly consider" artificial turf, he said. "All things being equal, we'd rather play on natural grass. But there's a reason why Cal and all the northern schools in our league play on artificial surfaces, and it's because it takes the guesswork out of field management. And it takes the weather out of it." Advertisement Article continues below this ad SATURDAY MATCHUP Who: No. 22 Notre Dame (8-3) vs. No. 4 Stanford (10-1) Where: Stanford Stadium When: 5 p.m. TV: Channel: 7 Channel: 10 Radio: 1050 Nov 23, 2011 By Tom FitzGerald Tom FitzGerald has been the Stanford beat writer for The San Francisco Chronicle since 2009. He also covers men’s and women’s basketball and many other Stanford sports. He also covers motor sports in the Bay Area and wrote about the America's Cup regatta in San Francisco in 2013, during which Oracle Team USA made one of the greatest comebacks in sports history to beat Emirates Team New Zealand. Among the many momentous games he has covered were the 49ers' victory over Dallas in the 1982 NFC Championship Game, which featured "The Catch'' by Dwight Clark, and the U.S. hockey team’s 1980 Olympic upset of the Soviet Union in Lake Placid, N.Y. At the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, he rode the bobsled run with members of the U.S. team for a first-person story. He also rode on Russell Coutts’ Oracle Team USA catamaran in 2012 and in an Indy car with legendary Mario Andretti in 2014 for other first-person stories. For 15 years he wrote a popular sports humor column called "Top of the Sixth" (later re-titled "Open Season"). A weekly version of the column was nationally syndicated in as many as 50 daily newspapers. 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