Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue sacks USF quarterback Quinton Flowers during Maryland’s 35-17 win at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium on Sept. 19, 2015.

South Florida wide receiver Rodney Adams sprinted through the middle of the field with nothing but green turf ahead. Terrapins football safety Anthony Nixon trailed multiple steps behind, and quarterback Quinton Flowers’ heave hit Adams in stride

Nixon and the Terps got lucky, though. Flowers’ pass, which came on a third and 9 early in the second quarter, slipped through Adams’ hands and preserved the Terps’ 14-7 lead.

The gaffe served as one of the few mistakes for a Terps defense that allowed 692 total yards to Bowling Green last week. In their 35-17 win Saturday, the Terps used a sustained pass rush to hold the Rams to 300 total yards and 60 yards through the air.

“We all kind of sat down as a defense and said ‘We need to win. We need to be who we are,” defensive end Roman Braglio said. 

Monday, the Terps released an updated two-deep depth chart featuring a litany of new faces on offense. Defensive coordinator Keith Dudzinski’s unit, though, stayed the same.

The Terps’ defensive line chased Flowers around the field all day, constantly forcing the sophomore to launch errant passes and scramble out of the pocket. Flowers finished 10-for-19 with one touchdown and an interception and was sacked six times.

Cornerback Sean Davis, who was torched by Bowling Green wide receiver Roger Lewis last week, recorded an interception in the beginning of the second quarter when he leaped in front of Adams and came down with an acrobatic grab.

Davis added another pick in the fourth quarter against backup quarterback Steven Bench. He grabbed a tipped ball and took it 33 yards deep into South Florida territory.

“We knew they were going to run the ball, so we knew that we had to really be on the receivers close the whole game,” Davis said. 

The senior’s turnaround mirrored that of the entire defense. On several occasions, the Bulls tried moving the ball downfield with screen passes, but the Terps were there to shut them down.

With less than five minutes left in the third, Flowers took the snap out of the shotgun and flicked a quick screen to wide receiver Chris Barr. Cornerback Will Likely immediately wrapped up Barr four yards behind the line of scrimmage.

Davis made a similar stop later in the drive with the Bulls six yards from the end zone. Flowers sent a screen to running back D’Erne Johnson, but Davis led a host of Terps that stopped the play in the backfield. 

Friday night, Edsall said he told the team that they needed to “play every play like it’s the last play you’re ever going to play.” A week after suffering a 21-point loss to mid-major Bowling Green, the coach seemed pleased with the Terps’ approach.

“You can’t take anything for granted,” Edsall said. “I’ll tell you, it’s hard to win, man. It is hard to win at this level. I don’t care who you’re playing. It’s hard to win.”