ATLANTA - When Maryland faces Tennessee in tonight's Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome, the team is getting another chance for the program to be taken seriously.

"We're trying to develop to a point where we should be, bumping elbows with teams like Tennessee," punter Brooks Barnard said.

While going 20-1 against everyone else on its schedule in the past two seasons, Maryland is 0-4 in games against schools synonymous with college football supremacy, losing to Florida State, Notre Dame and Florida.

These weren't close defeats, either. The Terps went down in those games by an average of 26 points - two of them finished by halftime.

Doubts may remain about Maryland's legitimacy beyond its wins in the Atlantic Coast Conference until it closes that gap, which is why the team craves a victory over Tennessee, one of those programs that makes prized recruits immediately listen up.

"With their history and tradition, they can go anywhere in the country and get the top players," Maryland defensive coordinator Gary Blackney said of the Volunteers. "Right now, we're trying to do that on a regional basis. We hope to get to where Tennessee is right now."

The Volunteers wind down the season looking to gain confidence after rough times. Rated among the top five teams in the preseason, they joined the unranked class two-thirds of the way through this campaign.

Part of Tennessee's trials dealt with defections to the NFL, with three first-round draft picks, and part of it had to do with injuries - 19 starters losing games to injury, the latest being three-year starter and linebacker Eddie Moore. Nonetheless, Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said his team should have been better this season.

The flip side for the Volunteers is that they come into tonight having won their last three regular-season games.

"A lot of us are disappointed. Even with our losses, we felt that we could have a very good season," Fulmer said. "That didn't happen, but I'm proud of this team."

Maryland has a better record, but looking at the athleticism that's part of Tennessee's reputation, the Terps see an opponent one level above what they play on most Saturdays in the ACC.

So a win would be a treat for any Terps fans making the trip to Atlanta. Maryland had hoped to take 20,000 supporters, a goal that turned out to be out of reach. For Friedgen, a win would make such goals realistic again after fans followed the team to Miami for the Orange Bowl and northern New Jersey for the Notre Dame game, only to watch their team get blown out.

"Part of it is that we have to win one of these things," Friedgen said. "It's going to happen one of these days, and you're going to want to be here when it happens."

Maryland's chances for victory took a hit over the weekend, when starting nose tackle William Shime failed to attend a team function and was suspended for the game.

The defensive line, somewhat undersized and inexperienced at nose tackle to begin with since C.J. Feldheim's knee injury in the Duke game, can try backups Tosin Abari and Justin Duffie - both weighing about 260 pounds to Feldheim's near 300.

Another option is moving defensive end Durrand Roundtree to that spot, with Scott Smith substituting for him.

"There are a lot of ways we can go," Friedgen said. "And I think we'll probably use all of them."

A little resourcefulness has gone a long way for the Terps, who had been scrambling before their first kickoff. Academic casualties decimated the offensive line. A groin muscle tear robbed them of their best offensive player, tailback Bruce Perry.

Once the season started, two losses in the first three games threatened to condemn Maryland to one-shot wonder status after last season's ACC championship and 10-2 record.

But starting with easier going in the form of Eastern Michigan and Wofford, the team rolled off nine wins out of its final 10 games. If not for a late-season loss to Virginia, the team's season would have been an unqualified success.

However, the Terps hope for a postseason turnaround, as well. With some of the experience from last season's Orange Bowl, Maryland hopes to be better prepared.

"Some of these younger guys have been broken a little bit," senior receiver Scooter Monroe said. "We just need to tell these guys that we need to focus on beating Tennessee, after that, the fun will come from there."

Terps tonight

Matchup: No. 20 Maryland (10-3) vs. Tennessee (8-4) in Peach Bowl

Site: Georgia Dome, Atlanta

Time: 7:30

TV/Radio: ESPN/WBAL (1090 AM)

Line: Pick