While calling a game a “back and forth” contest usually references teams trading scores, the Terrapins football team’s matchup with Syracuse on Saturday became defined by a six-possession stretch in the second quarter in which the Terps and Orange traded five turnovers.

And what’s more, only three points came out of that stretch: a Syracuse field goal to bump the Orange’s lead to 10-0 with three seconds left in the first half.

So while it was easy to bemoan a stagnant offensive effort or a defense that broke late in the game and allowed the Orange to put the score out of reach, the Terps’ inability to capitalize on turnovers — while failing to prevent giveaways of their own — made the difference in Saturday’s 20-3 loss.

“Any time you turn the ball over that much, it’s going to be tough,” quarterback C.J. Brown said. “We’ve been struggling to put the ball in the end zone, and that showed today. They’re a good team with a strong defense, and we didn’t come out and execute today. That was very unfortunate.”

The Terps’ four giveaways snuffed out a number of promising drives. After recovering a fumble and bringing it to their own 36-yard line, the Terps drove to the Syracuse 28. On third and 10, wide receiver Amba Etta-Tawo beat cornerback Ri’Shard Anderson on a post route.

But Brown watched Etta-Tawo too long, and after he released the ball, safety Durell Eskridge read the play from the middle of the field and intercepted the pass in the end zone.

The Terps, though, would get the ball right back. One play after Syracuse wide receiver Jarrod West made an acrobatic one-handed catch down the sideline, cornerback Will Likely made a diving catch on a ball quarterback Terrel Hunt threw in front of wide receiver Ashton Broyld. It was his first career pick, and it set the Terps up for another long drive.

“Of course, knowing when the offense is struggling that you can just be a spark, knowing that you can be able to contribute to the whole team,” Likely said. “That’s a lot of motivation for you.”

But after moving down to the Syracuse 36-yard line, Brown threw another errant pass behind tight end Dave Stinebaugh on an out route, and cornerback Julian Whigham was there to snatch it out of the air.

“You don’t have a shot to win when you turn the ball over four times and you have as many dropped balls and as many errors as we did,” coach Randy Edsall said. “Just way too many turnovers, way too many mistakes in order to come away with a win.”

Syracuse struggled with turnovers as well, twice giving the ball right back to the hosts after takeaways, but the pattern was unsustainable. Soon enough, one team would come away with points. And it was the Orange.

With less than two minutes remaining in the first half, Etta-Tawo made a juggling catch in the middle of the field, but as he fell to the turf, he was stripped, and the Orange recovered. A minute later, they kicked a field goal to take a 10-0 lead.

The Terps received the opening kickoff of the second half and met a similar fate. Brown and center Sal Conaboy couldn’t connect on a shotgun snap, and the Terps turned the ball over again. The Orange kicked a field goal, turning a one-score game into a two-score lead after four Terps giveaways on four straight possessions.

“The ball handling was not real good, the fumbled snap was not good,” Edsall said. “I just think that what C.J. has to understand and what C.J. has to do, just like everybody else at their positions — just do what you’re supposed to do. You don’t need to do anything more or anything less.”

After a strong start to the season when the defense dominated opponents — the Terps forced six turnovers in a 37-0 win over West Virginia on Sept. 21 — things have swung the other way. In five ACC games, the Terps have turned the ball over 15 times while forcing only five turnovers of their own. They’re 1-4 in those five games.

With a matchup against a top defense looming Saturday at Virginia Tech, turnovers could once again play a key role, just as they did during the Terps’ quick start and recent slide.

“It gets frustrating when you see guys, you see things not going the way you want them to out there and you’re sitting there: ‘What can I do to help? Can I do something to get them over the hump?’ That sort of thing,” Edsall said. “And that’s what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to make adjustments the whole time.”