Turnover battle sure to play important role for Georgia against Louisiana-Lafayette

Georgia has failed to deliver a single blowout victory through 10 games this season. The situation seems right for that to change Saturday, but it could very well turn south quickly thanks to turnovers.

The Bulldogs’ defense is among the best as far as creating turnovers this season, as the unit sits 28th in the country — in front of the likes of Alabama — by forcing 19. For the most part, the Georgia offense has taken care of the football with only eight lost fumbles and six interceptions. 

Georgia’s tenacity on defense and its stability on offense likely will deciding factors Saturday.

“I do think any time you’re playing a team that you may be favored against, that’s a big indicator of the game,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “That’s how you get in trouble, is turnover margin. There’s a lot of other things, too. Penalties, busted assignments, missed tackles.”

Georgia defenders pointed to their practices as the root of their drive for turnovers. Making interceptions or forcing fumbles is instilled as a must every day, with the payoff during the week being a chance to get the coveted lacrosse stick. 

The stick, which made its first public appearance at Georgia’s G-Day scrimmage, must be doing something right. Linebackers Reggie Carter and Roquan Smith said they believe cornerback Maurice Smith has gotten it the most in practice; Maurice Smith, meanwhile, is tied for the team lead with two interceptions, which includes his pick-six against Auburn last week.

Roquan Smith said the fight for the ball during the weekdays leads the same type of play Saturdays, which has proven to be important in a team’s pursuit of victory. 

“The more turnovers you get, the more likely you are to win,” Roquan Smith said. “I was looking at statistics and (teams) with plus-three in the turnover margin (in a game) are like undefeated. You get three turnovers in a game and you’re guaranteed to win. Turnovers are huge.”

The problem with banking on victory when the defense creates turnovers is Georgia nearly found out the hard way that isn’t always the case. 

The lowest point for Georgia this season came against Nicholls State in a game that saw the Bulldogs’ defense create three turnovers on a pair of interceptions as well as a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. Those valuable turnovers, however, were undone by the Georgia offense’s mistakes. The Bulldogs fumbled twice and threw an interception that was nearly returned for a touchdown, forcing them to barely eek out a 26-24 win.

While that September game was an example of how harmful turnovers can be, Georgia has had more recent scares. In the Bulldogs’ 27-24 victory over Kentucky, Georgia fumbled the ball three times, with running back Nick Chubb being responsible for two. Late in the third quarter against Auburn last week, a botched snap by Georgia nearly gave Auburn the ball after Chubb and quarterback Jacob Eason failed to immediately recover it. Eason eventually corralled the ball for a 14-yard loss that set up a punt for the Bulldogs.

These situations in Georgia’s last two victories could have derailed its chances, but for the most part those scenarios have been isolated incidents this season. Overall, the Georgia offense has been in the top 50 in the nation by only turning the ball over 14 times. 

“Kentucky, that was bad, and a lot of that was on me,” Chubb said. “Before that, I don’t think we really turned the ball over a lot. We’re always stressing and always on top of ball security. You hear it a lot at practice and the meetings and everything. We’re on top of that no matter what.”

Tight end Jeb Blazevich said Smart shares with the team those turnover margin numbers every Monday, reinforcing the notion that less turnovers means a better chance of winning. Blazevich said the starters are constantly getting in the ear of the scout team, telling them to rip at the ball in order to test them as they prepare for the upcoming game. 

“It’s such an important statistic that you just can’t ignore,” Blazevich said. “It’s really a big area of emphasis, and we continue to make it be one throughout the season.”

The emphasis that the players discuss is a product of Smart and the coaching staff, who work to make sure avoidable mistakes don’t open the door for a team such as Louisiana-Lafayette to hang around. 

“We want to win the turnover battle every day,” Smart said. “That’s my goal. I’m trying to figure out a new way to create a turnover and a new way to prevent a turnover. At practice, our first 10-15 minutes is how can we get an edge to create one and how can we get an edge to prevent one? Everybody’s looking for that.”

This story was originally published November 18, 2016 at 11:56 AM with the headline "Turnover battle sure to play important role for Georgia against Louisiana-Lafayette."