Connor Shaw down? No problem, send in Dylan Thompson.

Bruce Ellington strained his shoulder? No worries, Ace Sanders and Damiere Byrd are on the scene.

So, UAB finally blocked Jadeveon Clowney? DJ Swearinger will exact his unique brand of vigilante justice.

You can say No. 8 USC did exactly what it was supposed to do in dispatching the visiting and overmatched Blazers 49-6 on Saturday evening at Williams-Brice Stadium.

But the way the Gamecocks did it should have Missouri coach Gary Pinkel and his Tigers wondering what they have gotten themselves into by forsaking the Big 12 for the SEC.

Oh, by the way … Steve Spurrier picked up his 200th career college victory.

When Missouri makes its first SEC road trip next week to Williams-Brice, the Tigers will encounter a team that still makes its share of mistakes — but clearly has the talent and playmakers to pick up the slack.

What they also might be walking into is a full-fledged quarterback quandary.

With one minute remaining in the first half, Shaw was felled by a UAB helmet to the same bruised right shoulder he had been nursing the past two weeks.

As Spurrier approached his milestone victory this week, coaches throughout the country praised him for finding a way to win consistently at South Carolina without his prototypical, gunslinging offense.

Thompson, was that a pistol in your hand or was Spurrier just happy to see you?

Fresh off a huge passing performance against East Carolina, Thompson took a few plays to get his aim down, but once he did, he picked off huge chunks of yardage with his two catch-and-run dynamos, Ellington and Sanders.

Thompson opened the third quarter by leading USC on an eight-play, 75-yard drive that he capped with a 6-yard keeper straight out of the Shaw bag of tricks. The drive was made possible when a badly thrown interception was nullified by UAB penalty for roughing the passer.

That would mark the last real mistake Thompson made.

Perhaps showing Spurrier’s confidence in his quarterback and his own desire to Cock n’ Fire, he turned Thompson loose on third down from USC’s own 6-yard line, and he responded with the fourth-longest touchdown pass in school history — a 94-yard catch-and-run to Damiere Byrd.

While the Gamecocks would keep the pedal to the metal the rest of the way, they would do so with a mix of reserves, with Seth Strickland and Andrew Clifford getting turns under center while Kenny Miles and Mike Davis subbed in for Marcus Lattimore.

Meanwhile, the Gamecocks defense administered its bruises throughout the UAB defense.

For a time, it appeared to be a matter of bending and not breaking. But before long, it evolved into Blazers banging their heads on a Garnet-colored brick wall.

Kelcy Quarles and Clowney had their way with the Blazers’ offensive line, keeping quarterback Jonathan Perry running for his life. Swearinger and Victor Hampton roamed the secondary with impunity.

USC jumped out to a 21-6 halftime lead despite being outgained and badly losing the time of possession battle. That’s because when the Gamecocks struck, they did so quickly.

When Perry lost control of a ball while tucking down a pass, Swearinger was there to pluck it out of the air and race 65 yards for USC’s first score.

Shaw opened the second quarter by marching the Gamecocks 64 yards on nine plays, capping the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Sanders.

Just before halftime and not long after the stout defense stymied a short-field drive by UAB to force a field goal, Lattimore plunged in from 2 yards out for his record-breaking 34th touchdown.

End result: The Gamecocks are 3-0 and right where they want to be as the meat of the schedule is served up on an SEC platter.

First Quarter

UAB: FG Long 33, 12:41.

USC: Swearinger 65 fumble return (Yates kick), 2:17.

Second Quarter

USC: Sanders 16 pass from C.Shaw (Yates kick), 11:15.

UAB: FG Long 46, 4:34.

USC: Lattimore 2 run (Yates kick), 1:37.

Third Quarter

USC: Thompson 6 run (Yates kick), 12:57.

USC: Byrd 94 pass from Thompson (Yates kick), 7:03.

Fourth Quarter

USC: Roland 30 pass from Thompson (Yates kick), 13:06.

USC: Mike Davis 3 run (Ard kick), 10:05.

Attendance: 77,963.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

... RUSHING: UAB, Coles 7-14, Reaves 7-10, Franklin 8-9, A.Brown 5-6, Nelson 1-0, D.Jackson 3-(minus 4), Perry 11-(minus 8). South Carolina, Lattimore 12-85, M.Davis 4-84, Clifford 1-11, Lowery 1-6, Blue 1-1, Miles 5-1, Thompson 2-(minus 3), C.Shaw 5-(minus 6).

... PASSING: UAB, Perry 17-34-0-219, A.Brown 3-3-0-21. South Carolina, C. Shaw 8-14-1-107, Thompson 5-10-0-177, Strickland 2-2-0-38, Clifford 0-1-0-0.

... RECEIVING: UAB, Williams 5-45, Hearn 4-66, J.Davis 4-25, Franklin 2-23, N.Adams 2-21, Nelson 1-31, Backman 1-19, Herring 1-10. South Carolina, Ellington 5-98, Sanders 4-55, Byrd 1-94, Adams 1-33, Roland 1-30, Lowery 1-5, Lattimore 1-4, Anderson 1-3.