As I reflect on the 2025 college football season as a whole, there is one aspect/characteristic of our team that I can't really figure out: why can't an Elko defense generate turnovers?
We went 11-2 and finished the season ranked 118 nationally in turnover margin. We lost 19 turnovers (14 interceptions, 5 fumbles). That ties for 93 nationally, so that's a big contributing factor in the margin number obviously. We only forced 10 turnovers the entire season (3 interceptions, 7 fumbles). For reference, the top 10 in the country forced anywhere from 25-32 turnovers. I won't harp too much on fumbles because I believe those can largely be random. Some guys are very good at punching it out, but overall it's more difficult to force those plays. Our 3 interceptions (tied for 129 out of 134) were all tipped balls (Notre Dame, Miss St, South Carolina). You never see our guys jump a route, make a play on a jump ball, etc.
We were second in the country in Sacks with 43 (Oklahoma had 45). We led the country in 3rd down conversion % on defense. So pressure was there and we generally forced offenses into difficult spots with at least some frequency. Maybe you could argue that more sacks generally means less interceptions if the ball isn't getting out.
I guess I just find myself wondering how much better this team and that defense could have been if we had forced a few more turnovers. How do the more traditional defensive metrics look (yards/game, scoring defense, etc.) if we intercept even just a few more passes depending on the timing of those plays? Is there something schematically that we do that yields fewer turnover opportunities?
In 2024 we intercepted 16 passes. 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018 was 10, 10, 10, 7 respectively. Just found it interesting.
We went 11-2 and finished the season ranked 118 nationally in turnover margin. We lost 19 turnovers (14 interceptions, 5 fumbles). That ties for 93 nationally, so that's a big contributing factor in the margin number obviously. We only forced 10 turnovers the entire season (3 interceptions, 7 fumbles). For reference, the top 10 in the country forced anywhere from 25-32 turnovers. I won't harp too much on fumbles because I believe those can largely be random. Some guys are very good at punching it out, but overall it's more difficult to force those plays. Our 3 interceptions (tied for 129 out of 134) were all tipped balls (Notre Dame, Miss St, South Carolina). You never see our guys jump a route, make a play on a jump ball, etc.
We were second in the country in Sacks with 43 (Oklahoma had 45). We led the country in 3rd down conversion % on defense. So pressure was there and we generally forced offenses into difficult spots with at least some frequency. Maybe you could argue that more sacks generally means less interceptions if the ball isn't getting out.
I guess I just find myself wondering how much better this team and that defense could have been if we had forced a few more turnovers. How do the more traditional defensive metrics look (yards/game, scoring defense, etc.) if we intercept even just a few more passes depending on the timing of those plays? Is there something schematically that we do that yields fewer turnover opportunities?
In 2024 we intercepted 16 passes. 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018 was 10, 10, 10, 7 respectively. Just found it interesting.
