COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Members of Iowa’s secondary stood on the sideline near the Hawkeye bench late in the fourth quarter in Maryland Stadium on Friday, counting off how many interceptions the defense had tallied on the night.

It would have been hard to blame them if they started to lose track.

Iowa’s defense didn’t record a pick six against Maryland, but the Hawkeyes did pick off six Terrapin passes in their commanding 51-14 victory.

“It was kind of like playing at recess,” said cornerback Riley Moss, who caught Iowa’s first pick of the game and his third of the season. “We were just flying around playing football, no worries in the world.”

The then-No. 5 Hawkeyes (5-0) forced seven turnovers overall against the Terrapins (4-1). And Iowa’s offense made the most of those changes in possession. Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras led Iowa’s offense to scoring drives after each of Maryland’s first four turnovers — turning those takeaways into 24 points for head coach Kirk Ferentz and company.

The Hawkeyes lead the nation with 16 takeaways this season and have turned those turnovers into 75 points.

“Talking about playing team football, that’s almost the definition of it,” Petras said. “The defense does a great job getting a pick and gives us good field position. If we can go cash in and score, that’s a huge morale boost. That’s a momentum boost.”

Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa entered Friday’s game as the Big Ten’s leader in passing yards per game (336). Before kickoff, 105 FBS players had more interceptions than Tagovailoa. By the final whistle, no FBS players had more interceptions than Tagovailoa (six).

Tagovailoa’s first interception of the night came on Maryland’s second offensive drive.

A false start penalty on third-and-1 brought up a third-and-6. Iowa defensive lineman John Waggoner hit Tagovailoa as he stepped into his throw, and the ball — which was going to the sideline at a corner route — went right to Moss, who played cover two against a smash concept.

Iowa took over near midfield and ended up scoring a field goal after the turnover, and there was more where that came from.

Petras scored a touchdown on a quarterback sneak on the first play of the second quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Sebastian Castro forced a fumble, which Jay Higgins recovered for the Hawkeyes at the Terrapin 10-yard line. Petras found freshman Arland Bruce IV for the receiver’s first career touchdown two plays later, to push Iowa’s lead to 17-7.

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Maryland never came within single digits again.

“A really good win for our team and a really important one,” Ferentz said. “I felt that all week long. Couldn’t be much prouder of our guys.”

After Moss’ pick, Jack Koerner, Dane Belton, Terry Roberts, and Kaevon Merriweather all also recorded interceptions against Tagovailoa. Backup safety Quinn Schulte picked off a pass late in the fourth quarter after Tagovailoa was benched.

The six picks were the most by a Hawkeye team in a game since 1982, when Iowa had seven against Wisconsin. Iowa now has 12 interceptions this season and 76 since the start of the 2017 season, more than any team in the country.

Iowa scored 41 consecutive points after Maryland scored a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead in the first quarter. The Hawkeyes’ 31 points in the second quarter were the team’s most since a 37-point first quarter against Akron in 2002.

With Petras leading the way, accounting for five total touchdowns, Iowa’s offense took advantage of its pristine field position throughout the night, gaining 428 yards and at one point scoring on nine straight possessions.

Iowa’s defense took the ball away from Maryland, and its offense, usually, put it in the end zone.

That’s football, as Ferentz likes to say. That’s complimentary football.

“When we’re running off the field after a score, the defense is right there congratulating us, saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to get it back,’” Petras said. “And same thing when they get a big stop. We’re saying, ‘Great job, we’re gonna go score.’ That’s really good team football.”