Yes looking at the
web archive of the domain you can see that no page existed there for some time. Also by checking the
backlinks you can see their has been a substantial level of trust Google has given this page considering the number of .edu domains linking to it, regardless of content or the fact the website is down. I don't feel this is any proof that links are better than content rather how Google algo is easily faulted on certain queries, especially when Trust Rank and Authority websites are invloved.