Terrion Arnold read Jimbo Fisher’s lips, and a thrilling end to Alabama-Texas A&M followed.

With two seconds left and the ball on the 2-yard line, the Aggies threw the ball into the endzone with a chance to win it. But Arnold, Alabama’s cornerback on that side of the field was ready and broke on wide receiver Evan Stewart as the pass flew threw the air. Moments before, Arnold had noticed Fisher get Stewart’s attention presnap. That night, Arnold made sure he wasn’t, as he put it, “the most hated man at Alabama,” in the 24-20 final.

Instead, Arnold got a chance to reflect on his hero ball moment nearly a year later.

“The scenario last year, (former defensive coordinator) Pete Golding called a timeout, changed the play,” said Arnold. “Coach (Nick) Saban said we’re playing man-to-man. Obviously, you come to Alabama to play in games like this, moments like that. And I was able to go out there, execute and make a play. I mean, the moment was surreal. Everybody celebrated and I felt like it goes down in Alabama’s history as a positive note.”

There are a couple of similarities in this weekend’s rematch in College Station. No. 10 Alabama (4-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) enters on a winning streak and the home team Aggies (4-1, 2-0) will start its backup quarterback.

LSU transfer Max Johnson is completing 62.7% of his passes for six touchdowns. For UA’s Jalen Milroe, it’ll be a somewhat full-circle moment a year after his first collegiate start. Milroe has set a career-high in completion percentage in back-to-back weeks.

The wide receiver matchup that was crucial in last year’s contest in Tuscaloosa between Stewart and Arnold will also be replayed. He recorded 106 yards on eight catches in Tuscaloosa. The 5-foot-11 Stewart has 24 catches, 357 yards and four touchdowns in four games in 2023. Fisher said on Monday that Stewart is “good to go” against the Tide after missing part of last week’s game against Arkansas.

“Their whole receiving core is an explosive receiving core,” Arnold said. “Obviously, they have a great offensive coordinator and a great coach, Jimbo Fisher, to really dial it up. And when you go against guys like that you really have to be patient, because they have, at any moment in time, the ability to take the top off. So when you go against guys like that it really gets you excited. It’s another test for our defense and our secondary to show why we’re one of the best in the country.”

This year, it’ll be Texas A&M that can boast a home-field advantage. Aggies tight end Max Wright recalled how loud Kyle Field sounded from the field when Texas A&M made a game-winning field goal as time expired in 2021.

The trademark 12th Man is sure to be rocking for Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. kickoff on CBS. Arnold’s lipreading may need to come into play again.

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Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].