...which were, in each case, 1, 2, 3, and 9 when the Irish played them (Miami, USC, WVU & Michigan).
Penn State, Pitt and MSU were on that schedule, all having down years.
I had to look that up after reading your post, because I remembered that year having some tough teams on the schedule. Not really disagreeing with your point because several of those teams were independent, and they no longer are; and, WVU wasn't scheduled (being our bowl opponent). You just prompted me to take a look.
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