College football grass vs. turf analysis

Tug McGraw was once asked which he liked better, grass or Astroturf. The whacky lefty famously replied, "I don't know, I've never smoked Astroturf."

We were pawing through our Phil Steele's 2009 College Football Preview and found the following with regards to playing surfaces...

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No BCS school will play every regular-season game on artificial turf. Only Clemson, Florida, and Georgia Tech will play every game on grass. However, the Gators are heavily favored to play in the SEC Championship Game on the fake surface of the Georgia Dome.

Here are the breakdowns of surface by conference...

ACC: 10 grass, 2 turf
Big East: 3 grass, 5 turf
Big Ten: 4 grass, 7 turf (Iowa switched from grass to turf for this season)
Big 12: 4 grass, 8 turf
Pac-10: 5 grass, 5 turf
SEC: 10 grass, 2 turf
BCS Total: 37 grass, 29 turf (includes Notre Dame Stadium)

Here are the breakdowns for the Big Ten...

Illinois (Turf): Grass game at Purdue
Iowa (Turf, new this year): Grass games at Iowa State, Penn State, and Michigan State
Michigan (Turf): Grass game at Michigan State
Michigan State (Grass): Turf games at Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota
Minnesota (Turf at new TCF Bank Stadium): Grass games at Northwestern and Penn State
Northwestern (Grass): Turf games at Syracuse, Iowa, and Illinois
Ohio State (Turf): Grass games "at" Toledo (game at Cleveland Browns Stadium), Purdue, and Penn State
Penn State (Grass): Turf games at Illinois and Michigan
Purdue (Grass): Turf games at Oregon, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana
Wisconsin (Turf): Grass game at Northwestern

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