(Photo by Adrian J. Hernandez / New Day Review)
ATLANTA, Ga. – It’s a saying that every coach from Pop Warner to the National Football League has said: Turnovers win games. For the No. 12 UCF Knights, turnovers have brought them 12 wins and no losses.
“Well, turnovers are always the biggest stat in football,” UCF head coach Scott Frost said at a presser Sunday morning. “We’ve been really good at that this season.”
UCF has the fifth-most takeaways in the nation (29); their turnover margin is even more impressive. This season, the Knights have recorded the second-best turnover margin, averaging a 1.25 margin per game.
However, No. 7 Auburn University will pose a unique challenge to the Knights in the 2018 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Auburn is the first Southeastern Conference team that UCF has faced this season, and Frost isn’t underestimating the Tigers’ ability to take the ball away.
“Listen, our guys need to be ready. They are playing a bigger group than we’ve probably played all year, and this group probably hits harder than any team we’ve played all year,” Frost said. “We have small, fast guys, and they have big, fast guys, so our guys need to take care of the ball and protect it.”
The Knights have taken the ball away from their opponents at least once in every game this season and recorded three or more turnovers in four of those games. UCF’s pass defense has had an enormous impact this year, intercepting opposing quarterbacks 18 times. That effort is led by juniors Mike Hughes and Kyle Gibson, as each have four picks.
Interceptions may be difficult to come by in the Peach Bowl, though. Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham has only thrown four interceptions in 13 games. However, the Tigers are among the worst teams in fumbles lost, ranking 116th in the nation with 13; UCF is 13th with five fumbles lost.
As a team, Auburn hasn’t had the same success as UCF in the turnover battle. Auburn sits far below the Knights on the turnover-margin list at 59th, averaging a 0.08 margin per game.
“Earlier in the year, we didn’t do a very good job protecting the football the first few games,” Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said at a presser Sunday morning. “Then we kind of got in a rhythm.”
The impact of turnovers can be seen when comparing Auburn’s two matchups with the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs this season. In the Tigers’ first meeting with Georgia, Auburn didn’t have a turnover and recovered a fumble en route to a 40-17 thrashing of the then-No. 1 team.
The rematch between Georgia and Auburn in the SEC championship game was a different tale. Auburn lost two fumbles and didn’t force a Georgia turnover. The Tigers fell 28-7 and out of the College Football Playoff conversation.
“Obviously, the last game, that’s what really stuck out to me,” Malzahn said. “We had two critical turnovers, and, you know, the better opponent you play, the more important that is. It’s hard to overcome.”
UCF and Auburn face off on New Year’s Day in front of a sold-out Mercedes-Benz Stadium at 12:30 p.m. The Peach Bowl will be broadcast on ESPN.
For more on the Knights, as they prepare for Auburn and the Peach Bowl, follow Tommy Cardinal on Twitter at @NDR_TomCardinal.
