BLACKSBURG, Va. - Frank Beamer's mother would have been proud.

Taking the lessons he learned from her to heart on the day that she died, Beamer and Virginia Tech moved one step closer to a Bowl Championship Series berth Thursday night by routing Maryland 55-6.

"I had my mind in the game. That's what my mom taught me," Beamer said, dispelling the idea that his sadness and loss hampered his focus.

Besides, he added, she'd sent word that he was to coach.

"We weren't sure she was going to make it through the night before the North Carolina game, and I went by to see her in the hospital," Beamer said, recalling the No. 15 Hokies' game in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Nov. 6.

"Then when I left, she told my brother and sisters that if anything happened to her, to make sure to tell me to coach in that North Carolina game and to win the ballgame. That kind of tells you about my mom."

Herma Beamer, 86, had suffered from heart problems and been gravely ill when she died in her sleep overnight at her home in Fancy Gap.

"Really, it's a blessing that she died peacefully," Beamer said.

The coach's loss was felt by the whole team, quarterback Bryan Randall said, and motivated them to win for Beamer and his mom, and to stay in control of their drive to win the ACC by winning their last three games.

"It was special for him to be out here coaching us in a time like this," Randall said after running for one touchdown and throwing for two.

"We just wanted to make it special for him and get him a win."

They wasted no time, turning two turnovers into short touchdown drives in the first four minutes, leading 41-3 by halftime and not letting up.

"I appreciate their efforts," Beamer said. "They presented me and my mom with a game ball back there. I feel good about what they did tonight."

The victory was the sixth in a row for Virginia Tech (8-2, 5-1), which can win the ACC by beating No. 18 Virginia next weekend and No. 12 Miami, its longtime rival from the Big East, in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 4.

After a season full of games that went down to the final quarter, the Hokies used a vintage display of playmaking defense and opportunistic offense to make this one easy. They got their points with just 376 total yards, but outrushed the Terps 239-56 and held them to 197 yards overall.

Randall said the easy victory was a welcome change

"I'll take a victory like this any day," he said. "We got the momentum early, it stayed with us and they were on their heels the whole game."

It was a loss that didn't sit well with Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen, who has guided the Terps to bowl games in each of his first three seasons, but saw the chance for a fourth straight lost before the intermission.

"Obviously, I'm not reaching these kids," an angry Friedgen said. "I just have to sit back and re-evaluate everything. I can tell you what - I'm not very good at this. You won't see me around here a whole long time if we do this a whole lot. They won't have to fire me. I'll quit."

Tailback Mike Imoh scored both early touchdowns - one on a fourth-down 1-yard dive - then left with a strained left hamstring. But it hardly mattered. Jimmy Williams returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown, Justin Hamilton scored on a 5-yard run and it looked easy.

Things never got better for the Terrapins (4-6, 2-5), who used three quarterbacks, had five turnovers and managed just two field goals.

The trouble started right away for the Terps and sophomore quarterback Joel Statham, whose third pass was intercepted by James Griffin and returned 11 yards to the Maryland 29. Five runs by Imoh made it 7-0.

After a false start to begin the next series, Statham connected with Derrick Fenner, who was quickly stripped of the ball by James Anderson, and Mikal Baaqee recovered for the Hokies at the 17. Three plays later, Imoh ran it in from the 6, hurt his hamstring and watched the rest of the rout.

Randall threw touchdown passes of 35 yards to Jeff King and 15 yards to Jared Mazzetta, and Brandon Pace added field goals of 27 and 34 yards.