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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- USC linebacker Kana'i Mauga said the Trojans were told to prepare for a "bar fight" Saturday night at Utah.

"And that’s basically what we did all game. We took the fight to them. Hit more blows than we took, and we came out on top," he said.

Indeed, it might well have felt to Utah like it was getting hit from all directions with unexpected punches and the occasional bottle over the head, to extend the metaphor.

USC forced five turnovers -- three interceptions and two fumbles -- and held the Utes to 335 yards (including only 232 through the first three quarters) on the way to a 33-17 win at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

A Trojans defense that hadn't yet fully delivered under an entirely new defensive staff, led by veteran coordinator Todd Orlando, certainly did Saturday night.

USC added 3 more sacks to its tally sheet, delivered two fourth-down stops on top of the five traditional turnovers and held a ground-oriented Utah team to 119 rushing yards while showing considerable improvement in that department.

RELATED: Everything Clay Helton and players said after USC's win at Utah

"It just felt like we were playing in the backfield all night, and credit to TO, credit to Vic [So'oto], Donte [Williams] and Craig [Naivar], they put an amazing game plan together, but more importantly the kids executed it," head coach Clay Helton said afterward.

So what was the major difference -- aside from the results -- from the first two games, when USC gave up 27 points to Arizona State and 30 to Arizona along with a combined 416 rushing yards?

"The amount of viciousness, I guess you could say," Mauga said.

Again, the Utes might agree.

Utah had driven to the USC 28-yard line on its third possession when quarterback Cameron Rising -- making his first career start -- overshot a screen pass to a running back that landed right in the hands of Trojans outside linebacker Drake Jackson for his first career interception.

That ended up not costing the Utes too badly, but they'd feel the next haymaker for sure.

On the first play of Utah's next possession, star defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu forcefully tossed an offensive lineman to the side with his right arm and barreled straight into Rising, jarring the ball free. Connor Murphy fell on top of the fumble to give USC possession at the Utes' 4, and running back Vavae Malepeai would score two plays later for a 10-3 Trojans lead.

Rising didn't play again, so senior South Carolina transfer Jake Bentley entered the melee.

And if ever there was a time for the USC defense to make a statement, this was the night, as the Trojans offense largely sputtered with a season-low 357 yards and some costly miscues of its own.

As quickly as USC took that early lead, it gave it right back as the right side of the offensive line abandoned quarterback Kedon Slovis, leading to a big hit on the QB, a fumble and a 23-yard touchdown return by Nephi Sewell.

Slovis responded with a touchdown drive, spurred by a nifty 42-yard catch-and-run by Tyler Vaughns, who shook off a tackler, showed his nimble balance and took off all the way to the Utah 27. He'd also close that drive with an 8-yard touchdown reception.

But the offense was spotty and erratic all night -- fortunately that didn't matter this time.

Two plays into the ensuring Utah possession, still early in the second quarter, freshman running back Ty Jordan never got control of a handoff, losing the ball on the turf where USC safety Isaiah Pola-Mao pounced on it to give the Trojans possession at the Utes 27.

"The confidence was just radiating off of them. I mean we were literally saying, there was one point down in the first half I said, 'Go get the ball back and bring it to me.' And literally two plays later they go and get the turnover and they immediately run it over to me. It was so much fun to watch them play tonight and I thought they played for each other," Helton said in the postgame Zoom call, as Mauga nodded along in affirmation.

Slovis would give it right back with an ugly interception down the middle of the field, which he attributed to being on the wrong page with tight end Erik Krommenhoek. Nonetheless, it was another squandered scoring opportunity for a unit that has had far too many already.

The defense was there to respond again, though -- this time with a three-and-out that gave the ball back to the Trojans at the Utah 40. After completions of 9 and 19 yards to Bru McCoy, this time Slovis would connect with Krommenhoek for a 10-yard touchdown and a 24-10 lead.

The lead would be cut to 24-17 entering halftime and Helton said a challenge was issued to the defense, realizing that side of the ball was going to have to continue to play the leading role.

"We had a goal in the second half coming out of the locker room that we didn't want to allow another point. And unbelievable, I thought the defense in the second half rallied and rallied and rallied, turnover after turnover, fourth-down stops, just did an amazing job," Helton said. "... I thought we got the quarterback off his spot all night."

Indeed, as the offense went into field goal mode -- freshman Parker Lewis would boom through kicks of 35, 24, 43 and 47 yards in a perfect 4-for-4 performance -- the defense made sure that would be enough.

With USC up 27-17 leading into Utah's first drive of the second half, Jackson beat his man on the pass rush and got his hands around Bentley. While he couldn't pull him down, the Utes QB followed by throwing an ill-advised pass into double coverage that safety Talanoa Hufanga picked off in the air.

After another USC field goal drive, the Trojans again caused havoc in the backfield as freshman defensive end Tuli Tuipulotu engulfed Bentley for a 12-yard sack to force a quick punt.

Later, early in the fourth quarter, linebacker Ralen Goforth successfully defended an incomplete pass to a running back on fourth-and-4 from the USC 10 to thwart a prime Utes scoring opportunity, the Trojans would force another turnover on downs their next time on defense, and finally sophomore cornerback Chris Steele picked off Bentley in the final seconds to punctuate the win.

It was only appropriate the game end on a Trojans defensive play on this night.

"The one thing I really enjoy about TO is his aggressiveness. He's what I believe and what I love on offense, is be attacking, be aggressive, and he's that way defensively. He has no fear in his calls and the kids believe in him, in the system and tonight it was evident," Helton said.

This was exactly what USC brought Orlando in to do -- increase the Trojans' playmaking ability across the defense, but especially up front and in the pass rush. Utah may not prove to be a very good offensive team, but the larger point is that the Trojans needed this.

Goforth, who had struggled in his first two games, led the way with 12 tackles, a half tackle for loss and 2 pass breakups. Mauga, making his first start of the season in place of injured junior Palaie Gaoteote, had 11 tackles and a sack. Hufanga had his typical big stat line with 10 tackles and the interception. And in all the Trojans finished with 6 TFLs (including the 3 sacks), 5 pass breakups and according to PFF's advanced metrics a whopping 31 pressures (including a team-high 6 from the elder Tuipulotu, who is having a fantastic season). Whether it's just one game or the start of something more is to be determined, but that is the precise identity this defense wants to create.

Yes, for the first time in three games -- albeit all wins -- the Trojans left no doubt this time.

Oh, there are still questions, for sure. The offense left a lot to be desired, rushing for a net of only 93 yards on 31 attempts (with 21 yards lost on 3 sacks of Slovis). As the numbers suggested last week, the Trojans' 173 rushing yards vs. Arizona seemed skewed by a few big plays and many, many others that went nowhere. Ditto Saturday night, as a 47-yard scamper by sophomore Kenan Christon and a 14-yard run by Malepeai accounted for more than half of the 114 yards gained by the running backs -- meaning the other 24 carries averaged just 2.2 yards.

And Slovis was again not at his best despite finishing 24-of-35 passing for 264 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT.

"I don’t think I played very well as a whole. I have to execute better. We left a lot of points on the board, and that’s mostly because of my play and not being disciplined," Slovis said. "So I think if you see my play increase, we’ll put up a lot more points and have a lot more success offensively."

Said Helton: "Really, I thought it should have been a 31-10 ball game at halftime. We let them stay in it into the second half and then we started to separate ourselves, which I'm proud of the kids for doing. But we will hit on all cylinders and I'm looking forward to that here soon. And we're close. Defensively I thought we took a major, major step ahead. Offensively, we're doing the things to win but we haven't reached our full potential yet and I look forward to that day."

No, it wasn't the fully-assembled puzzle, but the Trojans at least found some pieces that had been missing in the first two games, and any step forward is progress.