Ad Disclosure
Turnover scoreboard: Florida, LSU continue to pace SEC in turnover margin
By Randy Capps
Published:
As it has been for much of the season, Florida still sits atop the SEC’s turnover margin rankings with a +9. The Gators forced a pair of turnovers in last week’s 24-14 win over South Carolina, giving them a league-high 21 takeaways on the season.
Despite its recent two-game losing streak, LSU remains 2nd in the conference with a +7 margin, while Alabama and Arkansas are tied for 3rd at +4. LSU (five) and Arkansas (nine) are the SEC’s two best teams in terms of giveaways this season, which keeps their respective margins high despite being near the bottom of the league in takeaways.
The Crimson Tide, on the other hand, has used 20 takeaways this season to offset its 16 turnovers.
Vanderbilt has a league-high 23 giveaways this season, followed closely by Ole Miss with 21. The Commodores’ turnover margin has been improving lately, though. They sit at -6 this week, five better than they were two weeks ago.
Here’s a look at the SEC’s turnover scoreboard through Week 11:
| Rank | School | Turn. Margin | Fum. Rec. | Int. | Total Lost |
| 1 | Florida | 9 | 8 | 13 | 12 |
| 2 | LSU | 7 | 4 | 8 | 5 |
| 3 | Alabama | 4 | 6 | 14 | 16 |
| 3 | Arkansas | 4 | 5 | 8 | 9 |
| 5 | South Carolina | 3 | 5 | 12 | 14 |
| 6 | Auburn | 2 | 4 | 11 | 13 |
| 7 | Georgia | 1 | 8 | 9 | 16 |
| 7 | Missouri | 1 | 7 | 8 | 14 |
| 9 | Tennessee | 0 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| 9 | Mississippi State | 0 | 1 | 11 | 12 |
| 11 | Texas A&M | -3 | 7 | 9 | 19 |
| 12 | Mississippi | -4 | 5 | 12 | 21 |
| 13 | Kentucky | -5 | 8 | 6 | 19 |
| 14 | Vanderbilt | -6 | 11 | 6 | 23 |
Vanderbilt recovered a Stanley Williams fumble in the win against Kentucky last week, and that recovery — in its only chance of the game — solidified the Commodores’ hold on the top spot in the fumble chart.
Vandy has an SEC-high 11 fumble recoveries and is 2nd in the league in recovery percentage at 55 percent. Only Arkansas boasts a better recovery rate (55.6).
Florida, Georgia and Kentucky are tied for 2nd in the league with eight recoveries, while Mississippi State continues to anchor the rankings with one fumble recovery in eight chances (12.5 percent).
The national average for recovery percentage is around 46.1 percent. With only five SEC teams at or better than that mark, most of the league should see an increase in recovery percentage as the season winds down.
Here’s a look at the fumble scoreboard through 11 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 | Fum. Rec. | Fumbles | Opp. Fum. | Fum. Rec. % |
| 1 | Vanderbilt | 11 | 9 | 20 | 55 |
| 2 | Florida | 8 | 6 | 18 | 44.44 |
| 2 | Georgia | 8 | 8 | 17 | 47.06 |
| 2 | Kentucky | 8 | 4 | 16 | 50 |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 7 | 6 | 18 | 38.89 |
| 5 | Missouri | 7 | 4 | 15 | 46.67 |
| 7 | Alabama | 6 | 6 | 15 | 40 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 6 | 7 | 14 | 42.86 |
| 9 | South Carolina | 5 | 3 | 17 | 29.41 |
| 9 | Mississippi | 5 | 8 | 17 | 29.41 |
| 9 | Arkansas | 5 | 3 | 9 | 55.56 |
| 12 | Auburn | 4 | 4 | 17 | 23.53 |
| 12 | LSU | 4 | 3 | 13 | 30.77 |
| 14 | Mississippi State | 1 | 10 | 8 | 12.5 |
Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.
