Stat of the Week: Jayhawks Lead the Country in Turnover Margin, Pick 6s

The Oklahoma State Cowboys prepare to take on a Kansas team who they’ve dominated historically, but the Pokes have had trouble in Lawrence in the past couple of meetings. If OSU wants to avoid a similar outcome, they will have to stay positive in the turnover margin — a feat they’ve only accomplished once this season.

Kansas leads the country in turnover margin with 13 gained turnovers and they’ve only lost one through four games. In their nonconference contest against Rutgers, the Jayhawks forced six takeaways, including two pick 6s. To put this in perspective, KU only forced nine turnovers throughout the 2017 season.

Third-team All-Big 12 member Bryce Torneden leads the defense in individual turnovers with two recovered fumbles. Interestingly enough, no other Jayhawk has more than one turnover.

Oklahoma State, on the other hand, is tied for No. 75 in turnover margin and are third in the conference in turnovers lost with seven. Additionally, they have had at least one turnover in three of their first four games and are are tied for second in the conference in thrown interceptions.

The only way Kansas can have a prayer of winning this Saturday is by forcing first-year starter Taylor Cornelius into some bad throws and hoping for a handful of turnovers. The Jayhawk secondary has been better than people expected and are actually tied with Alabama at first in the FBS in pick 6s. But if Cornelius and the Cowboys can stay turnover-free, they should have no problem rolling over the Jayhawks for their ninth-straight time.