Will natural grass field at Spartan Stadium be the 12th man for Michigan State vs. Washington?

University of Washington football coaches have had to answer multiple questions about grass ahead of Saturday’s game against Michigan State at Spartan Stadium. And not the type of grass that has been legal for recreational use in the Mitten State since December 2019.

The grass that has UW writers asking questions is the natural playing surface at Spartan Stadium. During the 2022 season, Washington lost games at UCLA and at Arizona State. Both of those teams play on natural grass. Those losses and other missteps by UW on natural playing surfaces over the years have led some to wonder if natural grass is a form of kryptonite for Washington.

Co-defensive coordinator Chuck Morrell does not give much credence to speculation that natural grass is an impediment for Washington.

“Not to us, not to me, not to our guys,” said Morrell when asked if playing on grass is a potential hurdle for the Huskies. “They are just lined up and ready to go. I don’t know if where the surface is at or what kind of surface they are on makes a big impact.

“The bigger focus for us is going to and playing in a hostile environment in a big road game against a team that is going to be really connected and really aggressive, and I think that is where our focus lies.”

Programs that play on natural grass typically have an indoor practice facility with a field turf playing surface. Michigan State has an indoor practice facility with field turf, and a substantial area of its outdoor practice area is also covered in field turf in addition to a natural grass field .

Washington, by contrast, practices exclusively on field turf. So, the Huskies may have to get creative in their preparation for Michigan State. Head coach Kalen DeBoer doesn’t want to overplay past Washington struggles on natural grass. He also doesn’t want the first time for his team to practice on natural grass to be during their walk-through at Spartan Stadium on Saturday.

“We’ll make sure the guys get a chance to go get on grass at some point,” DeBoer said. “What you really don’t want is on Saturday for that to be the first time they feel grass under their feet. Over the years, that is what I’ve experienced. You’ve got to do something at some point, there’s some things that we’ll do during the week.”

DeBoer also downplayed the lack of a natural playing surface practice option for Washington at home when the topic came up during his weekly press conference.

“We’ll adjust a few things, but it is always what you make of it,” DeBoer said. “When you make things a big deal, it becomes a big deal. We’ll make sure and adjust a few things throughout the week.”

When Washington lost at Arizona State, the Huskies not only played on a natural grass field. They also played against a team led by an interim head coach, with Herm Edwards having been fired after a Week 3 loss to Eastern Michigan last September.

“I thought about that, and it might come up,” said DeBoer when asked if he will talk to his team about losing to the Sun Devils last season. “I am really feeling that you don’t make a big deal about it. It is going to be about the 100 plus guys that they have on their team that are wanting to do something special. They are going to be playing at home trying to go 3-0 in an environment that is hostile.”

Whether the playing surface or change in head coach can give Michigan State an advantage this weekend remains to be seen. With a Heisman Trophy candidate in Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback and as good a crew of wide receivers as there is college football this side of Ohio State, Michigan State will need a whole lot more than natural grass and a coaching change to defeat a worthy Top 10 opponent.

For starters, the Spartans must play better than they’ve played to this point in the season in all facets of the game. They will probably also need some help from the Huskies. When Washington lost at Arizona State last October, a pick-six thrown by Penix did a whole lot more damage than the playing surface at Frank Kush Field.

I am tempted to make another pot joke here, but I already exceeded my quota in the first paragraph.

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