I also have always hated that the Michigan game had been played the night before. So Tennessee basically went from playing for a national championship to playing for an Orange Bowl trophy and a #2 ranking. There's no denying that it had to take a considerable amount of wind out of their sails. I can only speak from a fan's perspective but my excitement about that game dropped from a 10/10 to about a 5/10 when Michigan won the Rose Bowl and eliminated us from title contention.
With that said... That Nebraska team was really good so I think they still win that game 8 out of 10 times probably but I like to think we'd have put way more of a fight if they'd been playing for a championship.