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Show Utes plan to 'cut a rug' at home field games graded off the lawn. This was followed fol-lowed by a layer of gravel covered with asphalt. On top of the asphalt they laid down a five eighths inch pad which is not unsimilar to that which is used under a living room carpet. On top of the pad the Astro-turf, Astro-turf, which is another five eighths of an inch, was glued. The Astro-turf Astro-turf is installed in five-yard wide lengths. The top of the press box is AstroTurfed as well to provide a source of identically weathered grass if later grafts are necessary, indicated Woodbury. Cal Wooley, assistant equipment manager, said that other than special shoes and some added elbow el-bow pads that the transistion to AstroTurf will be no problem. The special shoes are similar to soccer cleats in that they are round and much smaller than regular football foot-ball cleats. They assist in the prevention pre-vention of injuries to the players as well as to "the rug." The visiting team, Woolley added, will probably bring their own "Astro-shoes." Six years ago when the University of Houston first started to play in the Astrodome they provided shoes to the visiting team. The University football team will be on emerald AstroTurf Oct. 7, when they return to Rice Stadium where they hope to "cut a rag" on top of the Miners of the University of Texas at El Paso. Despite burns, bruises and two early season loses the Utes are anxious to unveil their offensive fireworks against the new green back-drop. For the players, coaches and fans, home field has become the living room rug. by RICHARD BARNUM-REECE Chroncile Staff The Utah football team will do battle this fall on a carpet of Astro- Turf in the newly renamed and remodeled re-modeled Robert L. Rice Stadium. The renovated U-shaped structure -is the first in the Western Athletic , Conference to install the synthetic grass which was pioneered in the Houston Astrodome six years ago. The bill will be $350,000 and is ' being picked up by European Health Spa magnate Robert L. Rice who donated $1 million this summer sum-mer to the Department of Athletics to up-grade the University football foot-ball program. Other than a few carpet car-pet burns and old fashioned bruises which the AstroTurf does not seem to eliminate, the Ute coaching staff and players are enthusiastic about ' the prospects of playing on a car-peted car-peted gridiron. "It's easier to cut on and gives you an advantage over the defensive defen-sive back who is back-pedaling and trying to anticipate in what direction direc-tion you are going to make your move," said Steve Odom. The 9.5 sprinter also noted that although it was easy to plant a foot and turn on the AstroTurf at accelerated speeds it seemed harder to slow down. Running back Dan Allen pointed out that it was necessary to pick up feet rather than shuffle them to maintain balance. The "shuffle" is characteristic of some running backs who believe that a lower center of gravity is afforded by keeping the feet as close as possible pos-sible to the playing surface. Utah opened its first game of the season on AstroTurf when they were inhospitably greeted by the Red Raiders of Texas Tech. Assist ant Trainer Dee Allred indicated that many of the players were victim vic-tim to the laceration which the AstroTurf producers when a player is tackled and slides along its surface. "But it seems that the line pays more than the backs. . . as usual," he added good naturedly. Robert L. Rice Stadium is one of sixty football stadiums in the country coun-try to use AstroTurf which is installed in-stalled by the specialty company Sport Install. The company transformed trans-formed the playing surface of twenty stadiums to AstroTurf this past year according to Assistant Sports Information In-formation Director Bruce Woodbury. Sport Install entered the stadium Aug. 1 with special equipment designed de-signed specifically to lay down Astroturf and within ten days they completed the project. First they |