College Football Stat Leaders

2023 College Football Turnover Margin Leaders

Turnovers forced minus turnovers committed per game.

Seasons Covered

2004-2025

Current Leader

Michigan (1.27)

Best Season

Arizona State 2020 (2.25)

Scope

All Conferences • 2023

Browse Metrics

Crawl sibling stat pages without leaving the shared leaderboard template.

Total Yards Per GamePassing Yards Per GameRushing Yards Per GamePoints Per GameOffensive PPADefensive PPATurnover MarginHavoc Rate

What The Numbers Say

Route-specific context pulled from the current leaderboard, winner trend, and historical baseline.

How Turnover Margin Reads

Turnover margin is more volatile than efficiency stats because a few takeaways can swing a season, but the leaders still tend to be teams that pair disciplined offense with aggressive ball-hawking defense. On this 2023 leaderboard, the visible range runs 1.27 to 0.85, with Michigan setting the pace.

Conference Context

Big Ten Conference places 3 of the current top 5 teams, while Big 12 Conference owns the most recent yearly winner slot in the trend table.

Spread At The Top

The gap from No. 1 Michigan to No. 5 Kansas State is 0.42, which shows how tightly packed the top of this leaderboard is.

Recent Trend And Baseline

The yearly winning mark slipped from 1.54 in 2024 to 1.38 in 2025, a swing of 0.15. Michigan's current mark of 1.27 sits above the all-time average leader benchmark of 0.58 held by Alabama.

Leaderboard

Top 25 rows for the current route scope.

1MichiganBig Ten Conference20231.27
2Penn StateBig Ten Conference20231.23
3NavyAmerican Athletic Conference20231.00
4NorthwesternBig Ten Conference20231.00
5Kansas StateBig 12 Conference20230.85
6Ole MissSoutheastern Conference20230.85
7San José StateMountain West20230.85
8WyomingMountain West Conference20230.85
9OregonPac-12 Conference20230.79
10MissouriSoutheastern Conference20230.77
11ColoradoPac-12 Conference20230.75
12Bowling GreenMid-American Conference20230.69
13Fresno StateMountain West20230.69
14NC StateAtlantic Coast Conference20230.69
15OhioMid-American Conference20230.69
16Iowa StateBig 12 Conference20230.62
17AlabamaSoutheastern Conference20230.57
18Florida StateAtlantic Coast Conference20230.57
19UNLVMountain West Conference20230.57
20Coastal CarolinaSun Belt Conference20230.54
21Notre DameNCAA Division I FBS independent schools20230.54
22LibertyConference USA20230.50
23TulaneAmerican Athletic Conference20230.50
24ClemsonAtlantic Coast Conference20230.46
25James MadisonSun Belt Conference20230.46

Trend Chart

Yearly winning values for the current filter scope.

Yearly Winners

SeasonTeamConferenceValue
2025ArizonaBig 12 Conference1.38
2024James MadisonSun Belt Conference1.54
2023MichiganBig Ten Conference1.27
2022USCPac-12 Conference1.50
2021NevadaMountain West Conference1.23
2020Arizona StatePac-12 Conference2.25
2019Florida AtlanticConference USA1.50
2018Georgia SouthernSun Belt Conference1.69
2017WyomingMountain West Conference1.85
2016WashingtonPac-12 Conference1.29
2015San Diego StateMountain West Conference1.57
2014OregonPac-12 Conference1.53
2013HoustonAmerican Athletic Conference1.92
2012OregonPac-12 Conference1.62
2011Oklahoma StateBig 12 Conference1.62
2010TulsaConference USA1.38
2009Air ForceMountain West Conference1.69
2008OklahomaBig 12 Conference1.71
2007KansasBig 12 Conference1.69
2006MinnesotaBig Ten Conference1.69
2005TCUMountain West Conference2.00
2004USCPacific-10 Conference1.85

Historical Leaderboard

Average across seasons for each team in the current filter scope.

RankTeamSeasonsAverageBest Season
1Alabama2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.582019 (1.38)
2Jacksonville State2025, 2024, 20230.582025 (0.79)
3James Madison2025, 2024, 2023, 20220.562024 (1.54)
4Oregon2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.492012 (1.62)
5Sam Houston2025, 2024, 20230.472024 (0.92)
6Ohio State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.442008 (1.38)
7LSU2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.422007 (1.57)
8Iowa2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.412004 (1.33)
9Boise State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.402012 (1.54)
10Navy2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.352015 (1.46)
11Texas2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.342025 (1.08)
12Arizona State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.332020 (2.25)
13Utah2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.322004 (1.25)
14USC2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.322004 (1.85)
15Kansas State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.322012 (1.46)
16Florida2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.312008 (1.57)
17Virginia Tech2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.302010 (1.36)
18Penn State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.292023 (1.23)
19Clemson2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.292024 (1.14)
20Memphis2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.282024 (1.38)
21Oklahoma2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.272008 (1.71)
22Notre Dame2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.252019 (1.31)
23App State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 20140.232019 (1.07)
24Louisiana Tech2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.232005 (1.36)
25TCU2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 20040.232005 (2.00)

Frequently Asked Questions

Who leads college football in turnover margin in 2023?

Michigan ranks first at 1.27 in 2023.

Why does the 2023 turnover margin season stand out?

The top of the 2023 leaderboard is separated by 0.42 from No. 1 to No. 5, which shows whether this season had a runaway leader or a tightly packed race.

How does the 2023 leader compare with the all-time average benchmark?

Michigan's 2023 mark of 1.27 clears the all-time average leader benchmark of 0.58 held by Alabama.