USC Football: Will Kiffin Sacrifice a Possible Barkley Heisman for the Future?

Talk about your "unintended consequences."

If the Trojans 2012 season unfolds the way many experts predict it will, Head Coach Lane Kiffin may be faced with a conundrum.

Sit quarterback Matt Barkley or let him pad his stats for a concerted run at the Heisman trophy?

It won't be an easy decision for Kiffin and its one that he may face on a routine basis this season.

USC is expected to be a juggernaut this year, and if so, it will mean that many games should be decided early and this is where the trouble begins.

As Trojan fans know all too well, Barkley is senior and like it or not, a successor must be groomed.

And regardless of whether that person is named Kessler, Wittek or even Scroggins (the trio of Trojan back-ups), they must be subjected to game experience to prepare them for the 2013 season which will be the first since 2009 without "Saint Barkley" at the helm.

Assessing that quarterback who will replace Barkley must include game experience and it can only come at the expense of the guy who turned his back on millions of dollars to lead his beloved Trojans one last time.

When Barkley uttered his now famous line, "we still have unfinished business" in announcing his decision to return for his senior season, several scenarios immediately became evident.

First, the Trojans became a top one or two team in the nation, and they, along with Oregon in the Pac-12 north, became the class of the conference.

And Matt Barkley became the front runner for Mr. Heisman's stiff arming little trophy.

In a perfect world, for Trojan fans, all of those possibilities would come true but in reality, USC's reality, it probably can't happen.

At least not if Coach Kiffin wants a winner in 2013.

To ease the transition of replacing a legend such as Barkley, Kiffin will need to fast track the 2013 signal caller for the cardinal and gold.

That guy, whomever it is, must see as much playing time as possible in 2012.

And it can only come at the expense of Barkley who otherwise would pad those stats for college football's highest post season award.

In the final analysis, its a classic case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't."

Its quite a conundrum indeed.

Good luck with that Coach Kiffin.

You're going to need it.