Seth Emerson asks the $64,000 question:
The Bulldogs had a plus-16 turnover margin last year, the program’s best since 1982. It was the best margin in the SEC, the fourth-best in the nation.
Can it be maintained, or even improved upon, in 2015?
All those great stats from last season regarding offensive efficiency stemmed from what a +16 will do for a team, particularly more offensive chances and better field position.
The Dawgs only lost once last season when they were positive on turnovers (South Carolina – don’t get me started). And they lost the only game in which they finished in the red in that department (Georgia Tech).
There is a random element to turnovers, largely with regard to fumble recoveries, but there is some aspect that can be controlled to an extent. Here’s what Georgia’s turnover margin has looked like over the past seven seasons:
- 2014: plus-16
- 2013: minus-7
- 2012: plus-11
- 2011: plus-7
- 2010: plus-10
- 2009: minus-16
- 2008: minus-3
No, it’s not an answer to everything. Last year’s margin didn’t get Georgia to the SECCG. (Maybe we need to track a brain fart margin.) But I would argue it’s a big deal for a team that’s set up like Georgia is this season.
Get The Picture 
Gosh, the outlier there is 2010, isn’t it? Last year’s ball protection probably saved us from a 7-5 or 8-4 type season. Yet, the turnover on the last play of the regular season did us in for that game and kept us from a 10-2 season.
I think what we see is minus 7-15 almost guarantees a disaster type season with lots of head scratching losses. A minus category can also derail a really talented team (see: 2008). A plus 7ish and up really gives you a great shot at having a stellar season and winning the division. We were in the drivers seat much of the 2014 season in the East, won it in 11 and 12. Heck, even ’10 we had a shot. That was NOT a talented team at all, and we suffered the AJ debacle. I guess the silver lining there is that without the plus-10 that year, we probably don’t go bowling.
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Agreed. Good stuff.
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Good lord, we were plus 10 in 2010? How freaking bad could things have been without them?
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God, 2009 was a wretched year
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That year could’ve easily been 9-3 with a good bowl matchup. LSU and UK were games we easily could’ve won.
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2010 was a really strange year for Georgia football. If you go back and watch/listen to replays of those games you will realize that the Dawgs were in very close games multiple times that year and bad coaching decisions and/or bad officiating cost the Dawgs at least 4 wins. For example, the Dawgs were tied with Arky with the ball on the Arky 45 with about 1:30 left to go in the game, 3rd and 5. Get a first down and gain a few more yards, kick a game winning FG with no time on the clock–right? Wrong. A slow-developing pass play is called that required the RB (then freshman Washaun Ealey) to block Arky’s All-SEC DE. The DE threw away Ealey like he was a rag doll, then speared Murray in the left side of his helmet with the top of the DE’s helmet sacking Murray and knocking Murray’s helmet off (no penalty called). Georgia punted and Arky threw a game-winning TD pass with about 30 seconds left. In that game Georgia lost (1) because of a bad playcall, and (2) because the ref kept his flag in his pocket on an obvious PF (targeting hadn’t been invented yet but you still couldn’t spear the QB in the head even back then). That Georgia team shouldn’t have won the SEC Championship or even the East, but that team was certainly talented enough to have won 10 games if the calls/breaks went the other way. Instead: 6-7.
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Interesting, particularly the 3rd & 5 call. No doubt we’ve had a tendency to get too damn cute with our playcalling in situations like that. Same can be said for last year’s scu game. There’s been sooo many games when our O could’ve iced a win. For all the talk of “finish the drill”, its always been more of a slogan than reality.
But, I’m still hoping this year is different and looking forward to kick-off.
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