UAB quarterback Dylan Hopkins was simply not himself last week in a loss to Rice on the road.

The junior signal-caller was sacked three times, responsible for two turnovers, despite having his best statistical game of the season, and went down on consecutive plays to thwart any opportunity his team had at a victory.

A week later, playing for more than pride, and the name on the back of the jersey, Hopkins worked play-action on the first offensive play from scrimmage and connected with Trea Shropshire for a 46-yard gain deep inside opponent territory.

“That was huge, getting that big play (to open the game),” Hopkins said. “Shropshire making a great play on a ball that was underthrown. And really, it’s getting momentum (start), a bunch of yards and really starting hot.”

DeWayne McBride finished off the drive three plays later on a 9-yard touchdown run and the Blazers put up a season-high 581 yards of offense as they released some pent-up rage in a 41-14 victory over Middle Tennessee State in the annual Children’s Harbor homecoming game, Saturday, Oct. 8, at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.

“To see our team come out here today, play with the purpose and the passion that they displayed throughout this game, it’s hard to put into words because I couldn’t be more proud of our players of our coaches,” UAB interim head coach Bryant Vincent said. “We had our fans behind us, you can hear him, and we had another great students section that was packed out. This team is not built yet. We’re growing, we’re getting better and we’re learning.”

The opening shot of the game was only a taste of what the Blazers had to offer for a defense leading Conference USA in rushing defense and interceptions (9). After allowing the Blue Raiders to cut the lead to 14-7 late in the first quarter, UAB took another deep shot to Shropshire, who pulled down a 45-yard reception at the MTSU 20-yard line, and extended the lead to 21-7 on McBride’s second scoring run of the game.

“It’s very important, critical to be honest,” Vincent said. “Our kids feed off each other; offense defense and special teams. We wanted to take a shot on the first play of the game and Trea Shropshire made a great adjustment on that ball. It was a statement. We’re here and we’re ready to go.”

Hopkins turned his game around from a week ago at Rice, finishing 17-of-27 for 278 yards and adding 52 yards on 5 rushing attempts. However, his most impressive play of the game may have been a 9-yard run on 1-and-10 at the 31-yard line on UAB’s second drive of the game. Allowing MTSU’s pressure to fly past on a simple dropback, Hopkins took off without hesitation and put the Blazers in prime position to add another touchdown, doing so three plays later on a 24-yard run by Jermaine Brown Jr.

“We knew this week they would bring a lot of pressure and if I did get past the line of scrimmage, there would be running lanes and that’s what happened,” Hopkins said. “I took some sacks last week that I didn’t want to take and we didn’t allow a sack today. I was just trying to get some yards right there.”

A key to UAB’s offensive resurgence was without a doubt a 6-for-8 performance on third down in the opening half. It allowed the Blazers to build a 38-7 lead in the first two quarters, capping the first-half scoring on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Hopkins to Shropshire.

UAB was 0-for-4 on third-down conversions in the second half but Hopkins was an efficient 6-of-7 for 64 yards on third down for the entire game, converting five times on pass with the most important conversion coming on an 11-yard reception by Tejhaun Palmer on 3rd-and-9 at the MTSU 43-yard line.

“We did a really good job on third downs,” he said. “That’s huge, keeping our defense off the field and wearing their defense down. There were a bunch of times today that it was third-and-long. Palmer made a great catch on the breaking route and guys were making plays and helping me out. That really got us going.”

Obviously, any productive passing performance by UAB is supplemented by the rushing attack. The Blazers amassed 303 yards on the ground, almost 200 yards more than the Blue Raiders were allowing on defense, and 77.2 percent belonged to McBride and Brown.

McBride led the running game with 120 yards and 3 touchdowns on 12 carries, while Brown accounted for 114 yards and a score on 10 attempts.

Although UAB’s rushing attack continues to wreak havoc on opposing defenses, a rejuvenated Hopkins playing at a high level is a dangerous threat for any opponent on the schedule.

“The best of Dylan Hopkins is yet to come,” Vincent said. “He can run, he can throw, he’s accurate, and he knows the offense inside and out. Today you saw him go out there and play with a lot of confidence. He made the underneath throws. He made over-the-top throws. He was able to pull it down and makes really good decisions with his legs to not force some balls into traffic. He made some good checks at the line of scrimmage. Extremely proud of what we saw today from Dylan Hopkins and excited moving forward.”