Ole Miss (4-0, 1-0) must get better play from Bo Wallace starting this Saturday against Alabama, or the Rebels will see their lofty ranking deflate.

One of the nation’s best defenses and a bevy of talented skill players have Oxford, Miss., buzzing about the possibilities. A win Saturday would send the Rebels faithful into a frenzy.

But that’s hard to envision if Wallace doesn’t take better care of the football.

Ole Miss has taken the ball away 11 times, including a conference-best nine interceptions. But the Rebels have given it away nine times, including six Bo Wallace picks. Alabama’s secondary didn’t record an interception until picking off Jeff Driskel twice in its most recent game. But the Tide secondary is loaded with young five-star talent sure to take advantage if Wallace makes mistakes.

Texas A&M got its first takeaway in nearly four games Saturday, recovering a mishandled snap. Not exactly a “takeaway” in the truest since of the word, but it counted. The Aggies, Tide and South Carolina Gamecocks now have a conference-low four forced turnovers.

Vanderbilt’s offense continues to languish, turning the ball over 14 times, including three in a 17-7 loss at Kentucky. The Commodores without QB Patton Robinette have been atrocious, getting outscored 150-30.

Georgia’s offense has turned the ball over a conference-low three times, but two of those came in a back-and-forth game with Tennessee on Saturday.

Team Turnover Margin Fumbles Gained Interceptions Turnovers
1. Florida +8 7 5 4
2. Auburn +5 2 7 4
3. Missouri +5 4 5 4
T4. Kentucky +4 4 6 6
T4. Georgia +4 4 3 3
T4. LSU +4 6 6 8
T7. Ole Miss +2 2 9 9
T7. Mississippi State +2 3 6 7
T7. Tennessee +2 3 5 6
T7. Arkansas +2 3 4 5
11. South Carolina -1 1 3 5
12. Texas A&M -2 2 2 6
13. Alabama -3 2 2 7
14. Vanderbilt -6 7 1 14

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.

So far, Florida (8 of 10) has had tremendous luck recovering fumbles, which dovetails with their plus-eight turnover margin.

Vanderbilt (13) and LSU (10) have fumbled double-digit times, but also have forced double-digit fumbles. The Commodores and Tigers lead the conference with 12 fumble recoveries.

The Missouri and Florida defenses have only forced two fumbles.

Alabama (2 of 11) and Auburn (4 of 14) have been unlucky.

Team Fumble Recovery % Fumbles Opponent Fumbles Recovered
1. Florida 80.0% 8 2 8
2. Georgia 75.0% 6 6 9
3. Kentucky 63.6% 6 5 7
4. LSU 60.0% 10 10 12
5. Missouri 54.5% 9 2 6
6. Arkansas 53.3% 7 8 8
7. Vanderbilt 52.2% 13 10 12
8. Ole Miss 50.0% 4 6 5
9. Tennessee 41.7% 7 5 5
10. Mississippi State 38.5% 6 7 5
11. South Carolina 37.5% 4 4 3
12. Texas A&M 33.3% 8 4 4
13. Auburn 28.6% 9 5 4
14. Alabama 18.2% 6 5 2