How Concerning is Georgia's turnover problem?
The No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs clinched the SEC East after defeating Mississippi State last night by a score of 45-19 on the road. The Bulldogs dominated their opponent in nearly every statistical category with the exception on their 2 turnovers to State's 0.
Georgia has been notorious this year for their tendency to give the ball away to their opponent. So much so that they find themselves ranked 73rd in the turnover margin out of 131 teams. Last night's outing against Mississippi State was the 3rd straight game where the Bulldogs have turned the ball over at least 2 times.
Despite this, Georgia is still undefeated, ranked No.1 in the College Football Playoff, and dominating teams similar to how they did last year. So is there really a need for concern?
The short answer is yes.
Georgia started the season strong. Going 3 games before even committing a turnover. However, in the past 5 games, Georgia has given the ball away a staggering 8 times.
Since the inaugural season of the College Football Playoff in 2014, there has been only 1 National Champion to average a negative turnover margin per game (Clemson in 2016 won with a -0.2). Georgia currently has an average of .00 per game and still has 2 games left in the regular season. It should also be noted that in CFP National Title games, there have only been 2 teams to turn the ball over twice and win, (Ohio state 2014, Clemson 2016).
Now, these statistics are not the end all be all that determine whether a team wins the National Championship or not and Kirby Smart's Bulldogs are no stranger to bucking statistical trends as of late. But it is something that should warrant concern in the Georgia locker room. If the Bulldogs want a repeat of successes to their historical season last year, history suggests that they will need to start committing less turnovers.
The Bulldogs will finish their regular season schedule against Kentucky and Georgia Tech before heading to Atlanta to battle the Tigers of LSU and hopefully earn their second straight playoff birth.
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