Take care of the football.

That’s the message every coach has for his team anytime they take the field on Saturday afternoon. Still, some are a lot better at accomplishing that task than others. And the teams best at it usually see a lot more success in the win-loss columns.

Which teams are the best and worst at taking care of the football in the B1G? We decided to take a bit of a dive into that category this summer. A five-year sample size usually provides enough insight to see which squads have done a good job at controlling the ball and which teams are gift-wrapping the football to opponents.

We broke it down into two categories: total turnovers over the last five seasons and average turnovers per game over the last five seasons. Obviously, some teams have played more games than others (B1G Championship Game and bowl appearances, as well as differences in the 2020 season) over the past five years, so the rankings aren’t completely aligned.

Here’s what the math says about turnovers in the B1G since 2016:

Total turnovers last 5 seasons (2016-2020)

  1. Iowa — 70
  2. Michigan — 71
  3. Ohio State — 73
  4. Maryland — 79
  5. Minnesota — 82
  6. Penn State — 85
  7. Northwestern — 92
  8. Nebraska — 94
  9. Indiana — 97
  10. Illinois — 97
  11. Wisconsin — 98
  12. Purdue — 99
  13. Michigan State — 104
  14. Rutgers — 105

Average turnovers per game last 5 seasons (2016-2020)

  1. Ohio State — 1.159
  2. Iowa — 1.167
  3. Michigan — 1.224
  4. Penn State — 1.371
  5. Minnesota — 1.414
  6. Maryland — 1.463
  7. Northwestern — 1.508
  8. Wisconsin — 1.581
  9. Nebraska — 1.649
  10. Indiana — 1.672
  11. Illinois — 1.702
  12. Purdue — 1.768
  13. Michigan State — 1.793
  14. Rutgers — 1.842