LEXINGTON, Ky. — Nick Saban is famous for coining the term “rat poison” when referring to positive praise that causes his team to lose focus. This week, No. 8 Alabama dealt with a different type of pest control to avoid an upset during its “trap game” at Kentucky.
Coming off ranked wins against Tennessee and LSU, there was some concern that the Crimson Tide would overlook the Wildcats and put in a sloppy performance Saturday. Alabama did just the opposite, scoring on its first three possessions before cruising to a 49-21 victory to lock up the SEC West title.
So how did Alabama prepare for the potential trap game in Lexington? It started with a literal approach to the term during practice.
“Honestly, in practice, they had little rat traps going around,” Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold said following the win. “So in our heads we were preaching, talking about some guys don’t get caught up in the traps.”
That’s right actual rat traps, loaded and ready to go off.
“It was wooden, had the little cheese right there,” Arnold said. “I’m kind of, as they would say, an adventurer, so I put my hand in it to see if it really worked, and it worked. I got popped, right here on my finger.”
Fortunately for Alabama, Arnold’s hand is just fine. In fact, the starting cornerback put in one of his best performances of the season, recording an interception and forcing a fumble while tallying a pass breakup, a tackle for a loss and a quarterback hurry.
As for whether or not the traps spurred on the big day, Arnold said they didn’t hurt… mentally that is.
"In our head, we were preaching, talking about some guys — don't get caught up in the trap," Arnold said. "Think about it: when you think about all this and all the external factors, you came off of two big wins. Coach Saban said it's human nature to be happy."
Jalen Milroe admits he was a bit surprised by the rat-trap setup himself, smiling while referring to the gesture as “definitely different.”
“As we got on, we got used to it,” he said, “but at first it was kind of weird seeing all them rat traps all around the facility.”
Milroe can’t argue with the results, though. Perhaps sidestepping the traps earlier in the week prepared the starting quarterback for avoiding Kentucky defenders Saturday. After all, he finished the game with a career-high six touchdowns, becoming the first Alabama player to find the end zone three times through the air and on the ground in the same game.
That being said, don’t expect Milroe to bite on any rat poison following his career-best performance.
“I’m nowhere near finished,” Milroe said. “I’ve got a lot of stuff I need to fix. I’m not satisfied with that performance. I’ve got a lot of stuff I’ve got to improve on.”
Alabama (9-1, 7-0 in the SEC) will be heavily favored the next two weeks as it takes on FCS foe Chattanooga next weekend before wrapping up its regular season with the Iron Bowl at Auburn.
Who knows what the Crimson Tide will draw up to prepare for those matchups? However, if this week proved anything, it’s that Tide players will be ready when the time comes.
