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Florida’s plus-five turnover margin is second in the SEC and first on a per-game basis thanks to four fumble recoveries against Eastern Michigan.
The Gators snapped up every loose football and also forced EMU to throw an interception Saturday.
The early turnover picture is a good indication of what’s happening in the SEC East. Kentucky (plus-6) and Tennessee (plus-3) have given hope to their beleaguered fan bases by dominating turnover margin.
The Wildcats are the only SEC team with zero turnovers in two games, and they’ve also recovered four fumbles. The Vols have taken care of the ball as well, as quarterback Justin Worley’s TD/INT radio of 5/1 indicates.
Vanderbilt, which probably is last in every meaningful SEC stat through two games, turned the ball over seven times against Temple during the season opener. Commodores quarterbacks have thrown four interceptions and Vandy’s offense has fumbled five times.
Alabama is minus-one in turnover margin, uncharacteristic for a Tide team coming off back-to-back games as a big favorite. The defense of Nick Saban and Kirby Smart does not have an interception and has recovered just one fumble.
| Team | Turnover Margin | Fumbles Gained | Interceptions | Turnovers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Kentucky | +6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 2. Florida | +5 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| T3. Missouri | +3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| T3. LSU | +3 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| T3. Tennessee | +3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| T6. Ole Miss | +1 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
| T6. Mississippi State | +1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| T6. Auburn | +1 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| T9. Texas A&M | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| T9. Arkansas | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| T9. South Carolina | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| T9. Georgia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13. Alabama | -1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 14. Vanderbilt | -5 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
Numerous analytical studies have proven that recovering fumbles is not a skill. It’s luck. It regresses to the mean. In other words, if your team is recovering fumbles at an unusual rate, it’s likely that it will begin to slide toward 50 percent. The same holds true for a poor fumble recovery rate.
It’s early, but so far, Florida and Kentucky have been lucky in terms of recovering fumbles. Auburn, meanwhile, has recovered just one of eight fumbles, a percentage that Tigers fans almost certainly can expect to improve throughout the season.
LSU has fumbled six times in just two games, a flaw that bears monitoring.
| Team | Fumble Recovery % | Fumbles | Opponent Fumbles | Recovered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Florida | 100% | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 2. Kentucky | 80% | 0 | 5 | 4 |
| 3. LSU | 62.5% | 6 | 2 | 5 |
| 4. Tennessee | 60% | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| T5. Arkansas | 50% | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| T5. Mississippi State | 50% | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 7. Vanderbilt | 44.4% | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| 8. Missouri | 42.9% | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| 9. Texas A&M | 37.5% | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| 10. Ole Miss | 33.3% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 11. Georgia | 25% | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 12. Alabama | 20% | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 13. Auburn | 12.5% | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| South Carolina | — | 0 | 0 | 0 |
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
