With one-fourth of the 2026 season in the books, there are three teams in the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision that have yet to force a turnover.
Utah Tech. Davidson.
And East Tennessee State.
After playing three opponents from three different classifications in their first three games, the Bucs are putting an emphasis on finding ways to generate takeaways. That starts Saturday (Noon, ESPN+) as West Georgia visits William B. Greene Stadium for the Bucs’ final non-conference game of 2026.
As Bucs coach Will Healy noted both in his Monday press conference and his coaches show later that evening, ETSU has a minus-5 turnover margin. That’s last in the Southern Conference and tied for 105th across the entire FCS, which has 116 members this season.
“We’re minus five on the year and that’s not winning football,” Healy said on his coaches show.
Earlier in the day, at his press conference, Healy said it was a matter of making sure the second guy who got in on a play made an attempt to knock loose the ball.
“We’ve got to get some more punches on the ball,” he said. “We’ce got to put some more pressure on the quarterback to put the ball in jeopardy and then make some plays on the back end.
“I told the guys yesterday this is both sides to me, winning the turnover battle,” he added. “If the offense turns it over three times then, defense, I expect four. f the offense holds on the ball like I expect them to and there’s zero, the defense, you just need to give me one. But we need to win the turnover battle. We haven’t done that in any of our games.”
Healy noted that the Bucs also have to clean up ball security on the offensive side. ETSU has put the ball on the ground six times this season, losing three of the fumbles. Mason Mims, the quarterback, has thrown two interceptions: one in the 48-14 win over Division II Tusculum, and another in the 35-3 loss at North Carolina this past Saturday.
“Especially when you’re trying to go do something really special and go knock off these powerhouses like North Carolina, if you lose the turnover battle minus-2, chances aren’t very good,” Healy said. “So taking care of the football, one, how do we practice? Do we hear people talking about it? Do we hold guys accountable doing it, how we’re carrying the ball? You know, Mason not putting the ball in jeopardy.”
Josiah Mason, who has established himself as a key part of the rotation along the defensive line, also stressed the importance of generating more turnovers.
“This upcoming week we’ve got something we’ve got to prove, with getting the quarterback down,” Mason said.
West Georgia, by contrast, has forced three turnovers (two fumbles and an interception) and committed six, losing four fumbles and throwing a pair of picks.