Ad Disclosure
Turnover Scoreboard: SEC East, West leaders also boast league’s best margins
By Randy Capps
Published:
“Teams that win the turnover battle win football games.”
It’s an old axiom, which means that it’s been said a lot. But axioms don’t become “old” without containing an element of truth. And the fact is that taking care of the football on offense — and taking it away on defense — does increase a team’s odds of winning.
That’s certainly been the case for the teams at the top of the league standings. Florida, which leads the SEC East, is a league-best +9 in turnover margin. Right behind the Gators are the West leaders, LSU, checking in at +7.
Florida is 3rd in the SEC with 14 takeaways and 2nd in the rankings with only 5 giveaways this season. LSU hasn’t been as prolific in the takeaway department (9), but the Tigers have only turned the ball over twice in 2015.
On the opposite end of the standings, Vanderbilt is last in the SEC (and tied for 117th nationally) with a -9 turnover margin. The Commodores have 17 giveaways on the season, and only Ole Miss (19) has more in the conference.
Interestingly, Alabama ranks among the top teams in takeaways with 17, but its 14 giveaways place it near the bottom of the SEC, keeping its margin at +3.
Here’s a look at the SEC’s turnover scoreboard through Week 8:
| Rank | School | Turn. Margin | Fum. Rec. | Int. | Total Lost |
| 1 | Florida | 9 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| 2 | LSU | 7 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| 3 | South Carolina | 3 | 3 | 9 | 9 |
| 3 | Tennessee | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 3 | Alabama | 3 | 5 | 12 | 14 |
| 6 | Auburn | 1 | 4 | 6 | 9 |
| 6 | Georgia | 1 | 4 | 6 | 9 |
| 6 | Arkansas | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| 6 | Missouri | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 |
| 6 | Mississippi State | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 |
| 11 | Texas A&M | 0 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| 12 | Mississippi | -3 | 5 | 11 | 19 |
| 12 | Kentucky | -3 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| 14 | Vanderbilt | -9 | 5 | 3 | 17 |
Florida continues its reign atop the fumble charts. The Gators are tied for the league lead with 7 recoveries and are near the top of the heap in recovery percentage at an even 50 percent.
Texas A&M also has 7 recoveries with a slightly better recovery percentage (53.9).
On the other end of the table, Mississippi State has 1 fumble recovery this season and a recovery rate of 14.3 percent — both league lows.
The national average for recovery percentage is around 45 percent and, as you’ll see from the chart below, only two SEC schools are above that mark. So, it’s reasonable to expect those numbers to start inching up a bit in the last few weeks of the season.
Kentucky is still the best team in the league at ball security with only 1 lost fumble all season.
Here’s a look at the fumble scoreboard through eight weeks, indicating a team’s fumble recoveries, its own fumbles, its opponents’ fumbles and the rate for recovering those opponent fumbles so far this season:
| Rank | School | Fumbles Rec. | Fumbles | Opp. Fum. | Fum. Rec. % |
| 1 | Florida | 7 | 2 | 14 | 50 |
| 1 | Texas A&M | 7 | 5 | 13 | 53.85 |
| 3 | Mississippi | 5 | 8 | 14 | 35.71 |
| 3 | Vanderbilt | 5 | 6 | 13 | 38.46 |
| 3 | Alabama | 5 | 5 | 12 | 41.67 |
| 6 | Auburn | 4 | 2 | 13 | 30.77 |
| 6 | Georgia | 4 | 5 | 12 | 33.33 |
| 6 | Tennessee | 4 | 4 | 9 | 44.44 |
| 9 | South Carolina | 3 | 2 | 13 | 23.08 |
| 9 | Missouri | 3 | 3 | 9 | 33.33 |
| 9 | Arkansas | 3 | 2 | 7 | 42.86 |
| 9 | Kentucky | 3 | 1 | 7 | 42.86 |
| 13 | LSU | 2 | 2 | 10 | 20 |
| 14 | Mississippi State | 1 | 7 | 7 | 14.29 |
Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.
