Notre Dame
6-4 Notre Dame, originally rated #17, took an upset loss at 5-4-1 Pittsburgh, and they defeated now-#17 Southern Methodist. Clemson, who currently sits right in front of Dame, also took an upset loss, but they did not beat a rated team, and their performances were awful. 7-3 South Carolina took 2 upset losses, one more than Notre Dame. 6-4-1 Florida took an upset loss and a tie, the tie putting them a half game worse than Notre Dame. The Irish, who also defeated 5-3-1 Indiana, 6-3 Navy, and 6-4 North Carolina, should be ranked ahead of all 3 teams currently in front of them.
Move Notre Dame up to #13, dropping Florida, South Carolina, and Clemson 1 spot each.
He actually dropped Florida 4 spots versus the actual AP poll and moved ND up 3. This is his "logic" at work. As I said, one can argue with it, but it's interesting to read I think.
The polls back then were often apparently biased against certainly teams and regions. The writers did not adore the SEC for example. I don't know why ND suffered by his accounting this year. He mentions Auburn as being often way under ranked.