Editor’s Note: the original publication where this article was posted has since been eradicated, so we brought this post over to The Sports Bank before it got deleted. It originally ran in October of 2018.
Perhaps P.J. Fleck said it best: “as educators, you’re always teaching life lessons in a very cultural way.” Turnover props, the latest craze in college football, do indeed, as the Minnesota Head Coach puts it: “teach the importance of turnovers.”
Most people believe this trend started with the Miami Hurricanes’ turnover chain last season, which is certainly the most iconic object of the genre by far.
However, when Lovie Smith took over the Illinois program in 2016, his staff installed a contraption in the team room/press conference room that does exactly what all turnover props do- emphasize the importance of getting takeaways.
It has been billed the “Peanut Punch Machine,” named for legendary former Chicago Bears cornerback Peanut Tillman, who specialized in forcing the ball loose from opposing hands.
Only the team and the media get to see it, so if you missed it, it’s pictured above.
I would have to agree that the Oregon State turnover chainsaw is where we reach the apex of this trend, but rating the Florida State turnover bag dead last?
Well, we strongly disagree with that as we “interviewed” the FSU backpack here in this piece, and you’ll get to him know him/her very well later on.
That said the turnover chain is probably the first of its kind because the Peanut Punch machine is stationary. It doesn’t get passed around.
Getting back to P.J. Fleck, his program does not have a turnover prop yet, but it could be coming soon. The Golden Gophers players have approached their head coach with some ideas.
“If we’re going to do anything, we’re going to do it as a team, as a defensive unit,” the second year man said yesterday on the Big Ten coaches call.
“We’re not going to do it individually, because it takes all 11 to get that takeaway.”
“We’ve (he and his staff) said since Western Michigan that the ball is the program because it is, you win the turnover battle you’re going to win 78% of the time and you’re going to win 78% of your games (in which you win the turnover battle).”
Fleck added that the turnover prop ideas need to be, and have been, very creative.
So when will we see the debut of Minnesota’s new turnover prop, if/when they decide on one? “Your guess is as good as mine,” P.J. Fleck responded.
The Sugar Grove, Illinois native says that deciding on a turnover prop isn’t really high on the “bucket list” right now.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.