Alabama placed rat traps in locker room to combat 'trap game' at Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Nick Saban considered Alabama’s Week 11 matchup with Kentucky to be a trap game. The Crimson Tide was coming off back-to-back victories over ranked rivals that beat it the previous year, which is the perfect recipe for any team to experience a letdown.

But Alabama (9-1, 7-0 SEC) avoided that at Kroger Field, toppling the Wildcats, 49-21, to clinch a spot in the SEC Championship Game. How did Saban combat a trap game mentality?

With literal traps.

“We had rat traps in the locker room,” said Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold after the game. “Locker room, going around the facility. Just not getting caught in it. When you look at all the external factors, you came off of two big wins, as Coach Saban said, it’s human nature to be happy.”

Arnold said it was the first time he’s seen anything like that in three years in the program. Jalen Milroe echoed that sentiment, stating it was “weird” seeing all the traps throughout the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility. Arnold admitted one trap lured him into testing it. 

“It was wooden, had a little cheese right there,” Arnold said with a smile. “I’m kind of an adventurer, so I put my hand to see if it really worked, and it really did work. I did get popped, right here on my finger.”

Alabama jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and scored on four of its first five drives. The defense limited the Wildcats to 18 rushing yards before a miscue in the fourth quarter led to Kentucky’s third touchdown of the afternoon. But at that point, the Tide had its reserves in the game after it held a comfortable lead and controlled the contest from start to finish.

The nation’s No. 8 team won its eighth straight game and punched its ticket to Atlanta for what will be its 15th SEC Championship Game performance. Despite securing emotional wins over Tennessee and LSU in its last two outings, Alabama didn’t take its foot off of the gas.

“I was pleased that the team didn’t buy into the rat poison or whatever you want to call it,” Saban said. “I thought this was a little bit of a trap game, and I actually asked the players yesterday in the team meeting to stand up and say what they had to do, each position, each leader at each position. And I told them before the game I trusted that they would go out and do that, and that’s exactly what they did. 

“I trust in these guys that they’re going to do the right things, make good choices and decisions, which is going to help them continue to grow and develop as a team and hopefully finish business throughout the rest of this season in terms of what we have to do to continue to get better and see if we can create an opportunity for ourself.”

Saban’s message – this time a visual and physical one – was well-received by his players.

“There wasn’t no sign. It was just a rat trap,” Arnold said. “And Coach Saban reiterated, ‘This is a trap game. Don’t get caught in it.’ And we knew what that message was.”

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