Early in the second quarter Saturday, yellow penalty markers on the Byrd Stadium turf became just as common as the Terrapins football team’s black jerseys and Boston College’s white uniforms.

The Terps were penalized three times in five plays, squashing a promising drive into Boston College territory in a tied game.

And in a 29-26 last-second loss to the Eagles, the Terps’ turnovers, miscues and penalties formed too formidable a foe to overcome, in addition to Boston College’s powerful running game.

“We keep shooting ourselves in the foot,” quarterback C.J. Brown said. “We got to be able to put people away. We weren’t able to do that. Boston College played great. Our defense played good. They knew what they were going up against. Their running back and O-line are second to none. We had all the opportunities in the world today and just didn’t capitalize.”

The series of plays in the second quarter thwarted a potential response after a blocked punt led to Boston College running back Andre Williams tying the game with a 6-yard touchdown run.

A mix of running and passing plays had the Eagles defense off balance, and the Terps were set at the Boston College 26-yard line. But on a 9-yard pass from Brown to wide receiver Amba Etta-Tawo, an ineligible receiver downfield penalty was called on the Terps, wiping out the play and setting them back five yards.

On the next play from the Eagles 31, Brown lofted a high, arcing pass down the left sideline. Wide receiver Nigel King settled under it and caught it for a touchdown. But there was another flag on the field, and the officials ruled that King pushed off the Boston College defensive back guarding him. So the Terps were pushed back 15 yards.

A 10-yard rush by running back Brandon Ross and a 2-yard completion from Brown to Ross brought the Terps back to the Eagles 34. On third-and-18, Brown scrambled before finding wide receiver Levern Jacobs over the middle for a 33-yard gain just short of the end zone.

But yet again, there was a yellow penalty marker resting on the turf. Brown was past the line of scrimmage when he threw the ball, and the Terps were forced to punt from the 38-yard line on fourth-and-22.

“Just with stupid things, with linemen downfield, jumping offsides or me over the line throwing the ball,” Brown said. “Just little things. We were having big plays and success with and just kept shooting ourselves in the foot and making it third and 21 and that’s just never a good situation.”

Overall, the Terps were penalized five times for 44 yards, with 24 of those coming on that one possession. It was the fourth-most penalties and fourth-most penalty yards the Terps have had in a game this season.

“As a offense, I thought we played our butts off,” running back Albert Reid said. “We left a few plays on the field because penalties. Penalties hurt us a lot. … We just got to get rid of those penalties next game.”

The Terps had another promising drive snuffed out by a turnover in the fourth quarter. Leading 24-20 with the opportunity to bump their lead to at least a touchdown, the Terps were inside the Boston College 20. But running back Jacquille Veii was stripped at the Boston College 7 as he took a handoff through the left side of the defense, and the Eagles recovered.

Five plays later, a collision in the secondary led to a 74-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chase Rettig to wide receiver Alex Amidon to put the Eagles up 26-24.

But Boston College suffered a miscue of its own, as Terrapins outside linebacker Marcus Whitfield blocked kicker Nate Freese’s extra-point attempt, and safety Anthony Nixon returned it 98 yards for two points and a tied game. The Terps would get the ball back with little more than five minutes remaining and a chance to retake the lead.

“It swung the momentum again,” Brown said. “Just like that, 0-0 game. We had the ball, another opportunity to score. That was our mentality. Been moving the ball all day.”

The Terps, though, couldn’t capitalize and punted the ball back to the Eagles with 1:32 remaining. On third-and-3, Williams got loose for 36 yards on his final rush of the game and put the Eagles in range for Freese’s game-winner from 52 yards out.

“We felt like our worst enemy was us with the penalties and just the little miscues that we had,” Brown said. “We felt like they couldn’t stop us, and we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot.”