Nebraska Football: A.I. ends the NCAAF Mount Rushmore debate
In honor of President’s Day week, there’s been quite a bit of discussion on social media on which teams should be on the Mount Rushmore of college football. One account that played a big part in restarting the discussion put out their choices and somehow left off the Nebraska football program entirely.
Double BB a Twitter account dedicated to the Michigan Wolverines, believes that the four teams that belong on Mount Rushmore are the 2019 LSU Tigers, the 2018 Clemson Tigers, the 2022 Georgia Bulldogs and unsurprisingly … the 2023 Michigan Wolverines.
Ignoring the obvious bias of putting the most recent national champion onto a monument meant to honor (in this iteration at least) the best college football teams of all time, the account’s choices were met with some skepticism for a host of reasons, including the fact that all four are from very recent seasons.
Many people had a lot to say about who was the best of the best and what teams deserved to be on the Mount Rushmore of college football. For my part, I’d argue there are a couple of Nebraska football teams far more deserving than the 2023 Michigan and the 2018 Clemson squad, at the very least.
I am also very obviously biased, so I went another route to settle this debate once and for all. I went and asked Chat GPT and the new mobile A.I. app, Copilot who the most deserving teams for Mount Rushmore would be. I can’t say I agree with all the answers, but the A.I.’s answer certainly made a bit more sense.
Nebraska Football: A.I. ends the debate on who should be on Mt. Rushmore
The first team might be a bit controversial, but it’s hard to argue with the rationale:
“2019 LSU Tigers: Led by Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow, the Tigers went 15-0 and won the national championship, beating Clemson 42-25 in the title game. They set numerous offensive records and had 14 players drafted to the NFL, the most in a single year by one school”
The second team is one I personally wasn’t thrilled about but was hard to argue against.
“2001 Miami Hurricanes: The Hurricanes dominated their opponents, winning by an average margin of 32.9 points per game. They had 17 future first-round NFL draft picks on their roster, including stars like Ed Reed, Andre Johnson, Clinton Portis, and Jeremy Shockey. They won the national championship by defeating Nebraska 37-14 in the Rose Bowl”
The third choice was right up my alley. As it was the first time the Nebraska football team made an appearance.
“1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers: The Cornhuskers were unstoppable, averaging 53.2 points and 399.8 rushing yards per game. They had a Heisman Trophy winner in running back Eddie George, and a fearsome defense led by linebacker Grant Wistrom. They won the national championship by crushing Florida 62-24 in the Fiesta Bowl, capping a perfect 12-0 season.”
While most people would certainly agree that the 1995 Nebraska football team was one of the best of all time, you might have also noticed an interesting tidbit of alternative reality.
"“They had a Heisman Trophy winner in running back Eddie George”"
- Alternative Reality/ChatGPT
The final team that A.I. believes should be on Mount Rushmore? Well, it’s another Nebraska football squad of course!
“1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers: The Cornhuskers are widely regarded as one of the greatest teams of all time, as they went 13-0 and won the national championship for the second consecutive year. They had a balanced offense that featured quarterback Jerry Tagge, running back Jeff Kinney, and receiver Johnny Rodgers, who won the Heisman Trophy. They also had a stout defense that allowed only 8.2 points per game. They beat Oklahoma 35-31 in the ‘Game of the Century’, and then defeated Alabama 38-6 in the Orange Bowl.”
Certainly it’s hard to miss when Chat GPT or any other A.I. brings back a stat or a factoid that isn’t accurate, like Ohio State running back Eddie George playing for the Nebraska football team. But it’s hard to argue with this list, on its face.