Chatelain: With NU turnovers, foes take away wins

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NUance

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Chatelain: With NU turnovers, foes take away wins

Minus-8.

That is Nebraska's turnover margin since Pelini's arrival: 86 takeaways, 94 giveaways. Say what you want about dropped passes, penalties, Taylor Martinez's completion percentage or the Blackshirts' third-down defense. Each needs improvement. But turnover margin — more than any other phase of the game — has separated Nebraska from college football's top tier. Bridge the gap, and Pelini's path to BCS bowl games gets much easier.

Consider the data:

• Nebraska is one of the nation's 25 best programs by winning percentage the past four years. Of that group, NU ranks 25th in turnover margin. Dead last.

Minus-8 isn't so bad compared to schools like Akron, Minnesota and Colorado. But those aren't Nebraska's competitive peers.

How does minus-8 compare with Ohio State? The Buckeyes are plus-53 the past four years. How 'bout Alabama? The Tide is plus-45. Oklahoma is plus-39. Oklahoma State is plus-38. LSU is plus-35. You get the picture.

The Huskers have faced 17 ranked teams under Pelini.

In games when they lose the turnover battle, they are 0-9. When they win the turnover battle, they are 4-0. When turnovers are equal, Nebraska is 3-1.

Their total turnover margin in those big games is minus-12 (20 takeaways, 32 giveaways).

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Dirk raises a good point. For once.

 
without looking at stats, this year it seemed more like we justdidnt generate many as opposed to giftwrapping touchdowns, especially as the year progressed.

 
Very good article from Goldie. First one I can remember in a long time that actually seemed insightful and not a personal attack on somebody. If his analysis is correct, it would appear our defense is more responsible for this stat. Doesn't surprise me. I think it's time to replace the 2 gap, bend don't break, plan with something a lot more proactive.

 
I think it's a fair look at an intangible but other than point out the statistics I don't know what a person does with it. You have drills in practice that look at creating or preventing turn overs but it still comes down to the bouce of the ball many times. Our system is designed to give us opportunities for INTs and dirk points out that is happening plus count how many times our guys dropped one this year alone. I think it's easier to predict the chance to grab a pass than it is to predict an RB putting the ball on the turf. Every time someone says we need to create more fumbles I have hot flashes back to both Bohl and Cosgrove when we have 4 guys surrounding the runner pawing at the ball while he churns ahead for 6 more yards and a first down because no one decided to actually tackle him to the ground.

Dirk did do better. Still found a way to put in a few unnecessary comments. I think he called the offense abismal or something like that which this is an opinion column so it's a gray area but it is there to try to paint a negative and I'm not sure it added any strength to his argument and seemed a little out of place. Knowing his history it comes across petty and immature which I guess actually describes Dirk as a person too.

 
Solid analysis IMO...turnovers kill any team....we need to start limiting them or we are going to see another 9-4 season...

 
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One can look at any number of things keeping this team from getting for the hump to the elites, but turnovers are definitely a major issue that need correcting. Our defense struggled to create turnovers and compete with these bigger, more physical B1G offenses. I think that as the years going on we're going to get a lot better at it than we currently are.

I still find it very interesting that the defense and offense have two separate mindsets on this team. The defense makes mistakes, but doesn't really seem to let the game slip from their hands. The offense, however, has proven itself to be very fickle the last couple of years.

 
Good point brought up. It would be hard to imagine us going 9-4 if we didn't have a negative turnover ratio.

This definitely needs to improve under the Bo Pelini regime as well as the penalties, but one battle at a time.

 
while the turnovers are a problem, is has been addressed. (totally different from being fixed)

One problem though that has not been addressed and doesn't get much attention is how many takeaways we get per season. Or on a more specific note, how we get our takeaways. They mostly seem to come by interceptions and thats it. Every once in a while we force a fumble. But its very rarely. Crick said something about it early this season that they wanted to improve on stripping the ball, better said than done. With the exception of David's strip on Braxton Miller. How many times can you say you saw a Husker defender try and rip the ball out of the hands of an opposing player? I can't remember a legitimate strip of the ball from 2010. The only time we ever seem to force a fumble, it's usually because we hit the perfect spot to jar the ball loose. Hardly ever do i see a LB or CB take one of his hands while he is wrapping the guy up to knock the ball loose. I don't ever see a defensive lineman who is so close to getting his hands on the QB as he sets back to release stick his arm out to try and knock the ball loose from his arm.

I don't know is other issues are being address on the defense that these techniques aren't being taught or maybe they are but the players get caught up in the moment and don't think about stripping the ball.

As the fumble problem continues on the offensive side of the ball, coaches and players have agreed that its a thorn in the side the Nebraska needs to fix and I believe it is being fixed. Look at the decrease we had of fumbles on offense compared to 2010. But defensively, i would like to see what Crick said come into light better. We really need to start forcing turnovers in the form of fumbles on defense and not just rely on a young secondary to intercept the ball.

 
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