UAB quarterback Dylan Hopkins wasn’t sure if he should keep going or slide safely to the turf.

He chose the former.

Clinging to a one-score lead with less than two minutes remaining in the game, the junior signal-caller read the option perfectly, sliding inside two Charlotte defensive linemen, and shot out the other side with nothing but green artificial grass before him.

“I was kind of surprised it opened up like that,” Hopkins said. “Brody (Dalton) made a great block. I was really kind of surprised by how open it was. I was looking on the sidelines and everyone’s saying go score, go score, go score.”

Rather than slide down to preserve a close win, following a quick rally that saw UAB take a 27-20 lead on a 14-yard rushing touchdown by DeWayne McBride, Hopkins chose to finish off a game-sealing 61-yard scoring run after hearing the voices in his head.

So, the voices were not actually coming from Hopkins’ subconscious but more so from coaches and teammates encouraging him from the sideline.

“I wanted him to score, to be honest with you,” UAB interim coach Bryant Vincent said. “He (Hopkins) came straight off the field, came right to me and said, ‘Coach, did you want me to get down.” I said if it’s clean like that, go score.”

Hopkins showcased not only his arm but his legs as the Blazers overcame a rough start and rallied for a 34-20 victory over Charlotte, Saturday, Oct. 15, at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.

UAB improves to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in C-USA action.

Hopkins finished 15-of-23 passing for 231 yards and a touchdown, throwing an interception on the first play of the game, and added 103 yards on the ground while being sacked only once in the game. His final run of the game sealed the win for the Blazers and came long after the junior quarterback slid early on a 3rd-and-10 play and came up short on the conversion.

“His growth and development, he’s a fun kid to coach and he’s all in,” Vincent said. “He loves this team and this team loves him. We’re just going to continue this journey. Chapter Six is in the book and it was exactly what this team needed.”

Hopkins’ gutsy performance did not exactly start off on a positive note.

The Blazers received the opening kickoff and took a deep shot on the first offensive play from scrimmage. Hopkins chose not to take the check-down route and instead opted for the downfield shot to Shropshire, despite double coverage on the receiver. The pass was intercepted and swung momentum to the 49ers for the duration of the opening frame.

“I got back to the sideline and told the guys, ‘Hey, that’s on me right there and it won’t happen again, just move forward from there.’ We had the next play mentality moving on from there.”

Charlotte took a 7-0 lead on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Chris Reynolds to Elijah Spencer and extended its lead to 14-7 before Hopkins finally took command of the offense and the defense was roused from its slumber.

On UAB’s third drive of the game, Hopkins was sacked on 3rd-and-11 inside Charlotte territory and Matt Quinn missed a 48-yard field-goal attempt on the following play. Hopkins would not be caught again in the backfield.

“We knew, really in the first quarter, that the middle the field is going to be wide open,” Hopkins said. “They were covering us up and I tucked the ball and ran, trying to get some yards for first downs and getting those big third-down plays.”

Hopkins was true to his word as he converted a 3-and-11 with a 13-yard run and brought up a 4th-and-1 that McBride converted after taking off for 9 yards on third down. The drive eventually stalled on 4-and-Goal at the 1-yard line as the snap was early and Hopkins had to recover to prevent any defensive scoring.

UAB forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession and Hopkins went to work through the air, completing 4-of-5 passes for 37 yards, converting two additional third-downs on passes to Fred Farrier II and Tejhaun Palmer. The drive ultimately ended in a 20-yard field goal from Quinn, cutting the Charlotte lead to 14-10, but was the fuel needed for a second-half rally.

The Blazers forced turnovers on Charlotte’s first two possessions of the third quarter and turned them into 10 consecutive points and a 19-14 lead with 2:15 remaining in the frame. Grayson Cash intercepted Reynolds on the first play of the half and Will Boler recovered a fumble forced by Jaylen Key.

“We had to make something happen on defense, it’s one of those games,” Cash said. “We did that in the first half and put an emphasis on it in the second half. We needed to steal drives and get momentum back on our side.”

Following the Boler fumble recovery, Hopkins shot out like a cannon with two straight runs of 26 and 8 yards to open the UAB drive and finished it off with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Palmer, his first career touchdown reception on the FBS level.

Charlotte retook the lead on the following drive, capping the 6-play, 75-yard drive on a 1-yard touchdown run by former Thompson (Ala.) standout Shadrick Byrd, who finished with two scores in the game.

Hopkins guided UAB to the go-ahead score on the ensuing possession, a 14-yard touchdown run by McBride, but kept the drive alive on a 7-yard run out of bounds. A late hit was called on Charlotte and the Blazers surged ahead 27-20 on McBride’s second score of the game.

Charlotte was held to a three-and-out on its penultimate drive and was forced to punt after gaining a first down. The Blazers chose to milk the clock with 4:49 remaining in the game and Hopkins broke loose for his impressive scoring run with a little more than a minute to play, sealing the victory along with Cash’s second interception on Reynold’s final fourth-down fling.