Ole Miss wide receiver Dayton Wade went into motion and Terrion Arnold smiled.

Alabama’s cornerback had recognized the setup from a play the Rebels ran in the first half on Saturday. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin used the same design to cause Arnold to temporarily hesitate on a deep ball. But on the re-do, Arnold didn’t even need to read the eyes of quarterback Jaxson Dart. Arnold drifted near UA’s 5-yard line and beat Wade to the ball for his first interception of the season.

“I knew they were coming back to it,” Arnold said after his momentum-swinging pick. “So they ran that route with a different reciever. When they motioned him to run that, in my head I’m thinking ‘OK, key alignment, cash car, you know what’s coming.’ So (Dart) took it, launched it, I said, ‘Oh, OK.’ After that, it felt like Madden.”

In the end, Arnold’s takeaway and return to midfield sparked and set up No. 13 Alabama (3-1, 1-0 SEC) for a win in its conference opener over No. 15 Ole Miss (3-1, 0-1). The turnover came a drive after the Rebels missed a field goal and trailed by three points. The Tide was able to match the defense with a complimentary six-play, 59-yard drive that ate up 2:38 of the clock.

Both Kiffin and Tide head coach Nick Saban called the sequence crucial in the 24-10 final.

To start the putaway possession, UA quarterback Jalen Milroe found Kendrick Law and Isaiah Bond for first-down completions. Then, Milroe took a shot downfield that’s becoming commonplace for the offense when he’s leading it.

Standing firm in the pocket, Milroe delivered a 33-yard strike to freshman Jalen Hale (his first touchdown in his career) while taking a hit himself from freshman Suntarine Perkins. Hale leaped and barely fell in bounds while eyes turned to Milroe, who was quickly surrounded by medical personnel.

“(Perkins) was coming. He was coming,” Milroe joked postgame.

But Perkins just knocked the wind out of Alabama’s newly renamed starting quarterback. Afterward, Milroe caught his breath and noticed an official signaled touchdown. He got up and sprinted toward the celebration.

“He tough. He tough,” Chris Braswell said of Milroe. “He get in the weight room, too. … he lifts with oomph.”

Since Milroe needed assistance, he wasn’t able to stay on the field for Alabama’s two-point attempt. Instead, backup Ty Simpson shrugged off a pull of his facemask and scrambled forward for the conversion. The Tide had a 10-point lead it would protect.

On the ensuing kickoff, running back Jam Miller popped the crowd with a big tackle. The pro-Tide fans erupted and even though the play was reviewed and Miller ejected for targeting, a message had been sent to Ole Miss.

“I think the momentum of the game in the course of the plays that you described right there really shifted for us,” Saban said. “The energy went up and I think that it was demonstrated by how we continued to play the rest of the game. So I was, I’m always happy to see guys make those kinds of plays.”

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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].