My take is Tennessee was early to the game, got ahead but now others have caught up, and Tennessee is settling back to where it has been in most other eras of college football - a high quality, top 10ish program that can win big if the cards align.
I think the big story in the coming years will be Bama and Georgia settling back to earth (I think Tennessee can match them in this era) while Texas, Ohio State and maybe a handful of other big money programs ascend to the top because they have more cash than everyone else.