USC's sixth practice of the fall had an important feel to it Thursday, as the Trojans returned to the Coliseum for the first time since May's spring game. In the first scrimmage of the fall, USC ran 102 plays in four simulated quarters. And as four of the six scholarship running backs rested for the entire scrimmage, the onus was upon the much-scrutinized quarterback battle once again. 

Redshirt sophomore Cody Kessler set the bar high, earning the first-team reps for the first drive and responded by marching the squad 70 yards down the field, capped by a two-yard scamper by running back by Justin Davis. "That was a statement drive for the team, and that the competition is going back and forth constantly between the offense and defense," Kessler said.

Kessler also had an impressive four-yard touchdown pass to Jahleel Pinner at the goal line, where the pocket collapsed as he managed to barely lob the ball over the crashing defensive line and find the wide-open Pinner. On the same drive, Kessler also had a 42-yard floater over the middle to Nelson Agholor. He had an ugly botched snap that turned into a fumble and sailed a couple of passes out of bounds, but finished with a workmanlike 12-of-16 on passing attempts for 121 yards and a touchdown. 

Wittek, meanwhile, had his best day of the spring. He finished 13-of-20 on the day for 193 yards and two touchdowns, and displayed the smooth release and rocket arm that has earned him praise throughout the last year. 

"We did great here as an offense today," Wittek said. "We moved the ball consistently and efficiently, and I'm very happy with our performance."

All's quiet on the quarterback battle front, though. Kessler and Wittek each had six series, and while Kessler had 28 snaps in the first half to Wittek's 14, head coach Lane Kiffin was quick to dispel any favoritism. "We're going 1-2 and 1-2 to go back over the quarterback situation," he said. "The reps were not done on purpose, it just depends on the drive. It's probably not fair to comment." Kiffin will have to crack at some point on the battle for signal-caller, but it wasn't today and chances are he hasn't seen enough to decide soon. Stay tuned folks. We'll find out by the end of August. Maybe. 

SEE MORE: USC Football Fall Camp, Day 5: Redd Returns As Defense Dominates (Again)

Marqise Who?

Ok, not really. The Heisman candidate had a quiet day with four catches for 27 yards, but mostly because Kiffin rightly doesn't want to put his best player in a situation anywhere close to dangerous. Meanwhile, Nelson Agholor continued to show why Lee might not be double-teamed as much as you might think this upcoming season. Only a sophomore, he had eight receptions for 161 yards, including a 70-yard bomb from Wittek where Agholor actually had to slow down to catch yet still ended up five yards ahead of his man. Scary, really.

Face it, you've heard the hype for Agholor through last spring and sort of expected him to emerge as the man opposite Lee. The most tantalizing performance by an offensive skill player was on a true freshman that has been at USC for 21 practices. Darreus Rogers had five receptions for 62 yards today, and was impressive throughout. He made a leaping catch while changing direction on a sideline slant from Wittek, and broke a tackle on a Max Browne screen, turning a five-yard gain into a 20-yard romp. "I think so," Wittek said when asked if Rogers has earned the third receiver spot so far. "He has such strong hands at the point of catch. Even when he's getting his arms slapped around, he still makes those catches on a regular basis. It's really special." It looks like replacing Robert Woods might not be too tall of a task. 

Kiff's Regrets

When asked about a physical practice style being an injury risk, Kiffin was adamantly in support of taking the risk and playing hard. "We got to get physical, we got to play," he said. "When things happen, they happen. We learned our lesson last year from trying to protect ourselves so much and having that mindset of 'oh boy, we got through the day and nobody got hurt'. Probably not the right mindset to have." Essentially, Kiffin came clean and admitted that last year's practices could have simulated game speed more and been more physical. I give the head coach praise on this one. He manned up, admitted an issue, and is remedying the issue. So if the Trojans underperform this fall, don't blame it on the level of intensity of practice. At least until the injuries hit. 

SEE MORE: USC Football Fall Camp, Day 4: Lee Investigated, Cleared Of Autograph Investigations

NOTES

*Hayes Pullard and Xavier Grimble left after a few plays because they had attend class. Summer session courses end next Tuesday. 

*Aundrey Walker did not play, but was on the field. Kiffin says he is day-to-day. 

-For the third straight day, Su'a Cravens wasn't at practice. No word yet whether he's injured, in trouble, or anything in between. 

-Wideout De'von Fluornoy didn't play for the second day in a row. 

*Max Browne played most of his drives with the third team, and didn't play until the second half of the scrimmage. Kiffin insists it's a three-way race, but Browne looks to be the odd man out right now if it boils down to a two-man duel for the starting gig. 

*With four of the scholarship backs out, Buck Allen took the lion's share of the carries. He didn't exactly capitalize though, rushing for 49 yards on 18 attempts. Justin Davis had 6 carries for 32 yards, while the walk-on trio of John Akiba, Taylor Ross and James Toland had 13 carries for 62 yards. They won't get the glory, but for now the men at the bottom of the depth chart are putting in valuable reps. 

*With Pullard missing most of practice, redshirt freshman Michael Hutchings starting at the MIKE linebacker spot and proved his mettle. "If you're a true freshman and you're functioning you're probably gonna be a really good player someday," Kiffin said. That's a good omen for the true freshman if there ever was one. 

*Kiffin went for two after the second touchdown. Backup kicker Alex Wood had the ball sail over his head for a failed conversion. Whoops.

Senior Sports Editor Jacob Freedman can be reached via email or Twitter.