Boise State Football: Does Blue Turf Give Broncos an Unfair Edge?

USA Today ran a piece yesterday regarding San Diego State’s incoming coach Rocky Long’s comment regarding the Boise State’s blue home turf.

“I think they ought to get rid of that blue turf. I think it’s unfair.” Long said.

Indeed, much has been said about Boise State’s home field, but is it truly “unfair” and does it really give the Broncos some inherent advantage?

Well, if it’s numbers that tell the story, Boise State claims the longest regular season home field winning record at 62 (“regular season” being the key here as the Broncos fell to Boston College in the 2005 MPC Computers Bowl which was played on the blue turf).

But, surely not all these wins can be contributed to the color of the playing surface. I mean, Boise State has fielded some quality teams and they’ve had to win on the road, too.

Though Bronco Stadium opened for play in 1970, the blue turf wasn’t installed until 1986 when then Boise State AD Gene Blaymeier decided upon replacing the then green Astroturf surface with a blue playing field that might get the school noticed.

And get noticed it did.  But did the glaring blue turf get noticed—and then notorious— because of its color or because of the team playing on it?

The first time I witnessed the field was the first time I saw Boise State on TV; though I was admittedly drawn to the screen due to the “holy crap” effect of the turf, the Broncos would not have even been televised at all had they not been playing well enough to sell advertising spots.

Boise State has been playing FBS (or Division 1-A) football since 1996 and from that time they have had only two losing seasons (in 14 total), their overall record is 147-42, they have gone undefeated twice and have had five one-loss seasons.

The Broncos have won nine conference titles since 1996 and have been to 10 straight bowl games.

So, was the obnoxious blue field on TV because it was blue?

As far as an “unfair advantage” is concerned, it would seem logical to argue that what we see—blue players on a blue field—as a “camouflage” effect just can’t look the same to players down on a field who are seeing everything three dimensionally with a non blue backdrop.

And, truly, if there is “camouflaging” of the blue field, how is Bronco QB Kellen Moore picking out blue shirted receivers down field on his way to becoming the No. 1 ranked passer in the country?

When the Broncos knocked off Oklahoma and TCU in the 2007 and 2010 Fiesta Bowls what color was the field?

When Virginia Tech fell in Landover, Maryland in 2010 and Oregon lost in 2008 at home in Eugene, what was the color then?

We can all have our opinions about the blue turf but at the end of the day it’s legal in the eyes of the NCAA and will go on being blaringly blue for the foreseeable future.

Maybe what we’re really miffed about is here is a team that doesn’t have near the recruiting prowess, the money or tradition that “our” teams from “our” conferences do but they continue to win big and win often.

Wouldn’t the blue turf seem less obnoxious if the Broncos would just get slaughtered by Georgia in September and then were removed from the BCS discussion all together, at least for this year?

Yes, the blue turf is blaringly obnoxious but is that what we’re really upset about?