Turnover Scoreboard: Late fumbles cost Ole Miss against Auburn

The Ole Miss Rebels have the second-best turnover margin in the SEC this season, but two costly turnovers late in Saturday night’s game against Auburn earned the Rebels their second loss of the season, a loss that should eliminate them from playoff contention at season’s end.

Ole Miss fumbled twice inside the Auburn 5 yard line in the fourth quarter of a 35-31 loss, and had the Rebels scored a touchdown on either drive they would have taken a late lead and had a chance to win and avoid a fatal second loss. Instead, quarterback Bo Wallace fumbled trying to stretch for extra yards, and wideout Laquon Treadwell lost the ball on a gruesome tackle mere centimeters shy of crossing the goal line.

Treadwell broke his leg and dislocated his ankle on the play, and his fumble was the final nail in the coffin as far as Ole Miss’ playoff hopes are concerned.

Ole Miss maintains a plus-12 turnover margin through nine games in 2014, but that margin is down from plus-13 a week ago (the Rebels were tied with Georgia for the SEC’s best turnover margin last week). However, those two late fumbles brought the Rebels’ turnover total to 13 on the year, which is actually tied for fifth-lowest in the SEC. For context’s sake, five other teams have at least 15 turnovers this season, while only one has fewer than 10 on the year.

Here’s a look at the SEC’s turnover scoreboard through nine weeks:

When it comes to fumbles, no one has been more fortunate than the Georgia Bulldogs, who also own the SEC’s best turnover margin. The Bulldogs have recovered 68 percent of loose balls this season, marking the best recovery rate in the SEC. Only one other team has a recovery rate greater than 60 percent (LSU), and only six teams have a recovery rate greater than 50 percent.

A major factor in Georgia’s impressive recovery rate has been its ability to recover its own fumbles this season. The Bulldogs have fumbled the ball 11 times this year, but they’ve only lost two of those 11 fumbles, falling on top of the other nine. Georgia has recovered a greater percentage of its own fumbles than any other team in the conference, which has helped UGA avoid disaster throughout the season.

Because the Bulldogs have only lost two fumbles all season, they have the lowest number of turnovers (5) of any team in the SEC. No other team in the conference has committed fewer than 10 turnovers in 2014.

Here’s a look at the fumble scoreboard through nine weeks, indicating a team’s fumbles, its opponent’s fumbles and the total number of loose ball recoveries in 2014:

Ethan Levine

A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.