We were horrified while watching the horrible field conditions during Tuesday's Champs Sports Bowl, knowing that tomorrow Penn State and LSU will compete on the same mess of a surface...Subscribe to Penn State Clips via EmailMiami running back Greg Cooper, who has more than 2,200 career rushing yards and averages 5.2 yards per carry, suffered a very, very bad knee injury during the game...
On the play that featured the injury, Cooper picked up a short kickoff at the Miami 24, burst through a hole and seemed poised for a long runback. Near midfield, he planted his knee in what players described as sandy turf - large divots appeared in the surface all game long - and the joint gave out. Cooper collapsed quickly, squeezing his knee tightly with both hands.According to the city of Orlando, the issue began after the Florida Citrus Bowl hosted eight high school state-championship games the two weekends prior to Christmas.
The city replaced the stadium's turf Dec. 24, as it has done prior to past bowl games (Orlando has hosted two bowls for the past eight years). But unseasonably cool weather prohibited the grass from growing horizontally or vertically, causing the problems, said Heather Allebaugh, spokesperson for Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer...
"They're working around the clock to get the field into good condition for the Capital One Bowl. Our grass is high quality, the same turf that the Tampa Bay Bucccaneers use. We hold ourselves to a high standard. I don't know if it was the best, but I don't know if it's the worst, either."We're happy that FieldTurf will be installed at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium over the summer, but it's too late for Greg Cooper.
Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark watched on TV and sounded less-than-thrilled...
"I saw chunks and chunks of grass popping up from play to play. Field conditions may be a bit of a problem. Our equipment guys will make sure we have the right shoes so that doesn't affect us."The Capital One Bowl forecast is 68° with a chance of showers and a 50% chance of precipitation. We fear for the knees of players on both sides of the ball.
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