No Alabama fans or former players care to hear any excuses for the Crimson Tide's embarrassing loss to Indiana in the Rose Bowl last month. Especially one as silly as former Alabama LB Nikhai Hill-Green gave when discussing the game with Reggie Ragland on the Bama Standard Network.
A note to the players: Alabama fans would prefer you keep it simple: "They kicked our ass. No excuses."
Instead, Hill-Green shared a partial explanation that calls into question the mentality and preparation of this team leading up to the Rose Bowl.
"I think there was a little bit of a sense of, this isn't an SEC team," Hill Green said, via Mike Rodak. "To a point, to a point. There was a little bit of that, I think. Like that pre-conceived notion of they're not gonna be as physical as us, because they're not an SEC team."
Huh?
The No. 1 team in the country? The team that had just beaten defending National Champion Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game the month prior? How is that possibly something anyone in Tuscaloosa would have thought? Worse yet, how is that possibly something that Hill-Green would say out loud?
Nikhai Hill-Green says Alabama may have overlooked Indiana
The difference in the mentality between Alabama and Indiana in Pasadena was severe. It wasn't just a physical domination by the Hoosiers: they clearly dominated mentally as well. They were the better, more prepared team.
The outcome of that game doesn't have to be any more complicated than Indiana was the better football team. They were the best team in the country, going 16-0 and winning the National Championship. That team will be remembered for a long time.
But Alabama shouldn't have lost the way it did. There's no excuse for a five-touchdown loss to anyone. I'm not sure Tide fans would accept that big a margin of defeat against the Indianapolis Colts, much less the Indiana Hoosiers.
But it happened. And Hill-Green's baffling explanation for it is further evidence of why it got so lopsided.