The story on Tennessee - No. 21 Maryland's opponent in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 31 - is injuries.

Look to injuries, and you'll find out why a team ranked fifth nationally when the season began is missing a New Year's Day bowl for the first time since 1994.

Look again, at a healthier team, and it becomes easy to figure why the Volunteers (8-4) feel good about their chances against the Terps (10-3) in Atlanta.

"I don't know a whole lot about Tennessee except for the fact they've had a lot of injuries," Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said. "I did see the Georgia game [an 18-13 Vols loss on Oct. 12], and know they have won three straight, so Tennessee must have healed a lot."

Eighteen Volunteers starters have been injured this season. The most prominent injury was quarterback Casey Clausen, who has missed two games with injuries ranging from a hairline fracture in his non-throwing shoulder to a sprained right foot and ankle. Preseason All-American wide receiver Kelley Washington has played only two games because of spinal fusion surgery.

The linebacker spots have featured more twists than a soap opera plot because of injuries.

Weak-side linebacker Kevin Burnett suffered a season-ending knee injury in Tennessee's opener. His backup, Kevin Simon, was gone by the end of September, thanks to an ankle injury. Starting middle linebacker Keyon Whiteside switched to the weak side after Simon went down, but had to switch back when his backup, Robert Peace, hurt his foot against Miami and was lost for the final three games.

The hurts have been a major reason for disappointment for the Volunteers, who came within a win of playing for the national title last season and wound up beating Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, 45-17.

Ranked in the top 15 for the first eight weeks of the regular season, and beating then-No. 22 Arkansas, 41-38, in overtime, Tennessee came up short against its well-regarded peers. The Vols lost at home to Florida and Alabama by a combined score of 64-27.

"It's been one of the tougher years that I've had personally," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said. "We had a lot of high expectations and a lot of disappointments. It would have been real easy to roll over and play dead, and we never did."

Losses to No. 4 Georgia, No. 14 Alabama, and No. 1 Miami in the middle of the season wrecked the team's chances of a better bowl, but the Volunteers still finished strong with three straight wins.

Much of that could be owed to the defense, which allowed only 16.4 points per game (11th nationally). The final three opponents scored only 17 points on the defense, which was led by Whiteside's 105 tackles and 101 more from fellow linebacker Eddie Moore.

With 17 of the team's opening day starters expected to play against Maryland, Tennessee hopes to end with nine wins, the goal it set after the 26-3 loss to Miami.

"Thus far, we've held up our end of the bargain," senior offensive tackle Will Ofenheusle said. "We want to send our seniors out in style and give our underclassmen something to build upon for next year."

While the Volunteers have the opportunity to rehabilitate their season, Maryland gets another chance against a major program, one that won a national championship in the 1998 season.

Earlier this season, the Terps lost their opener to Notre Dame, 22-0. Two weeks later, Florida State was the opponent in a 37-10 loss at home.

"This is a great opportunity for us. We missed chances against Notre Dame and Florida State early this season," said Friedgen, who worked with the 1984 Maryland team that defeated Tennessee in the Sun Bowl, the last of four postseason meetings between the schools. "Hopefully if we keep knocking on the door, it will open up."

Sun staff writer Bill Free contributed to this article.

Bowl rivalry

The Dec. 31 Peach Bowl will be the fifth time Maryland and Tennessee have met in a bowl:

1951 Sugar:Maryland, 28-13

1974 Liberty: Tennessee, 7-3

1983 Citrus: Tennessee, 30-23

1984 Sun: Maryland, 28-27

Next for Terps

Matchup:No. 21 Maryland (10-3) vs. Tennessee (8-4) in Peach Bowl

Site:Georgia Dome, Atlanta

When:Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m.

TV/Radio:ESPN/WBAL (1090 AM)