The Trojans opened their 2013 campaign in unfamiliar fashion Thursday night. 

Unlike in years past, USC's 30-13 victory over Hawaii proved resounding on the defensive side of the ball, but complicated and testy when it came to the offense.

USC coach Lane Kiffin said throughout fall camp that his team would be "physical"; and it showed Thursday. Without flash or dash, the Trojans brought the hammer down on the Rainbows' offense and grinded out a win on the ground behind impressive performances from rookie running backs. Though there are significant deficiencies at quarterback, where there is still no true starter, the team's trip to Hawaii was essentially a preseason game, an assured win from the get-go that was used to mark progress and determine depth, especially at the offensive positions.

New defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast debuted his highly-touted 5-2 scheme and reaped fantastic results, unseen by Trojan fans during the days - and years - of Monte Kiffin. The defense recorded four interceptions off Hawaii QB Taylor Graham, who was starting his first game since high school, and sacked the Ohio State transfer seven times. 

The turning point of the game was actually made on defense. A pick-six by cornerback-turned-safety Josh Shaw with under three minutes to go in the second quarter gave the Trojans a needed double-digit lead, 17-5, and proved that the defense, not the offense, will be leading this 2013 ballclub. In fact in the first half, the Trojans' first seventeen points came off Hawaii turnovers. 

Other Trojans to snag interceptions included team captain Hayes Pullard, new safety Dion Bailey and freshman DB Su'a Cravens, who jumped a curl route early in the first quarter to grab the Trojans' first interception of the season, and of his career. 

The Hawaii offense, led by offensive (ex-)guru Norm Chow, never recovered from their mistakes or developed a tempo throughout the game. The same, of course, will and should be said for the Trojan offense.

SEE MORE: Arrogant Student Nation Videocast: Redd Will Sit As Hawaii Looms

Kiffin finally decided who would start at quarterback, settling on Cody Kessler. To the delight of the media, or anyone else who had witnessed Max Wittek's performance in the Sun Bowl, Kessler took the first snap of the season for the Trojans. But after that, his shaky, timid performance silenced his assured supporters. 

Kessler went 10-for-19 for 95 yards in the first half and an early portion of the second half, throwing one touchdown and one interception. His mediocre play may have been a byproduct of conservative play calling from the Visor, but his overthrow of Tre Madden deep in Hawaii territory in the second quarter that instead landed in the unsuspecting arms of Rainbow DB Marrell Jackson was certainly his own poor doing. Kessler also lacked situational awareness, taking way too much time in the pocket, especially on a goal-line play that resulted in a Hawaii safety early in the second quarter. 

Though Kessler threw a nice touchdown to Nelson Agholor with 4:18 to go in the second quarter, the Bakersfield signal caller never did hook up with Heisman-hopeful wideout Marqise Lee. Lee did not catch one ball in the first half and struggled with drops and ball security all day. Needless to say, for the Trojans to be successful, Lee must get his hands on the pigskin; the problem is someone has to throw it to him. 

Wittek did just that. Though the Mater Dei disciple completed only 50% of his passes (5-for-10, 77 yards), he ignited Lee, who finished with eight receptions for 104 yards. In doing so, the wide receiver passed Robert Woods and Keary Colbert for fourth on the all-time USC receiving yards leader board.

Kiffin said after the game what everyone was thinking aloud about the quarterbacks during the frustrating contest, "I don't think we played real well there today. There was not a clear No. 1 out there."

It seems clearnow why Kiffin didn't pick a starting quarterback all through camp. It isn't that Kessler and Wittek are both too great and not starting one would be wasting his talent. It was evident Thursday that neither of them are ready for the tempo and pressure of a real game and it may take a while for them to feel it out. 

But hey, who needs a real quarterback when you finally have a functional, balanced running game? 

With Silas Redd staying home with a nagging injury, Tre Madden and Justin Davis made the most of their first games in Trojan uniforms. Madden got the start and kept the offense afloat during Kessler's tepid moments. No. 23 balanced an unsteady USC offense in the first half with his power running style to the tune of 18 carries for 109 yards.

In the second half, the 17-year old baby-faced freshman Davis took over and provided a speedy counter to Madden's punishing game. Davis ran 14 times for 74 yards, including one 3-yard touchdown to cement the victory late in the fourth quarter. Ty Isaac and Javorius Allen also made brief appearances. 

On the injury front, USC's two starting cornerbacks, Kevon Seymour and Anthony Brown, both went down with undisclosed injuries early in the game. Their absences were notable in the second half, when sub Devian Shelton got beat by Hawaii wideout Keith Kirkwood on two deep balls from Graham. Though Kirkwood dropped the first, he secured the second pass late in the game and scampered 60 yards into the end zone for a garbage-time touchdown. 

USC will play its home, and Pac-12, opener next week against Washington State at the Coliseum at 7:30 PM PT. The Cougars will be in action this Saturday at Auburn.

Reach Senior Sports Editor Jeremy Bergman via e-mail and on Twitter @JABergman.