Notre Dame Football: 10 Reasonable Goals for the 2012 Season

What should Fighting Irish fans be expecting from their beloved football team this fall? The answer is many things, but in this slideshow, I will be outlining 10 reasonable goals for Notre Dame in 2012.

There are more than 10 goals for Notre Dame to achieve, but I'll be keeping this list at 10.

Feel free to add any goals that I may not mention in this slideshow.

Follow along and enjoy reading!

10. Get Cierre Wood over 1,000 Rushing Yards

Cierre Wood enjoyed a breakout season of sorts in 2011, accumulating 1,102 yards on 217 carries in 13 games. The challenge for the Notre Dame offense will be to push Wood to that peak once again.

Oh, and don't forget that Wood tacked those numbers on the stat sheet as one of two "feature backs" last season, with the NFL-bound Jonas Gray being Wood's counterpart.

With Gray gone, Wood now becomes the main ball-carrier for the Fighting Irish, making it a very realistic possibility that Wood could eclipse the 1,500-yard mark in 2012.

9. Keep Gunner Kiel Happy

Brian Kelly's recruiting prowess was evident after the third-year head coach convinced the nation's top-ranked prep quarterback, Gunner Kiel, to choose Notre Dame.

A player of Kiel's status does not choose a school to sit the bench, though.

While it's widely expected that the 5-star talent sit out his freshman season in order to preserve a season of eligibility, there's no question that Kiel will be chomping at the bit to get on the field.

To satisfy that urge, Brian Kelly and the coaching staff must keep Kiel happy. Whether it's being directly involved in team meetings, taking first-team reps in practice or any other possibilities, the coaching staff must find a way to keep Gunner Kiel happy.

8. Create Turnovers

The sole reason why Notre Dame lost each of its five games last season was turnovers. It's really that simple.

To make matters worse, the team only created 14 turnovers of its own. Those 14 takeaways ranked 112th in the FBS. For Brian Kelly's squad to take the next step toward becoming a championship-caliber football team, it must skyrocket up in that ranking.

In order to that, Bob Diaco's defense needs to take a more aggressive approach that will make opposing offenses prone to turning the football over.

7. Protect the Football

From Jonas Gray's devastating fumble against South Florida to Dayne Crist's momentum-killing fumble against USC, turnovers were the demise of Notre Dame's 2011 season.

Following a loss to Michigan that dropped his team to 0-2, Brian Kelly stated that his team must pay attention to detail and do the small things right in order to avoid turnovers. Apparently, his team didn't get that message for the rest of the season.

It's paramount that Kelly and his staff preach ball security over and over and over again during spring practices and into fall camp.

Notre Dame fans will not tolerate another 29-turnover season.

6. Establish Ishaq Williams as a Threat

The 2011 recruiting haul brought in three defensive phenoms in defensive ends Stephon Tuitt, Aaron Lynch and Ishaq Williams.

Lynch and Tuitt enjoyed spectacular seasons, but Williams did not enjoy the same type of success. The transition from defensive end to outside linebacker was not kind to the New York native.

With a full season of experience at his new position, Ishaq Williams will be primed and ready to wreak havoc on opposing defenses with his 6'5", 255-pound frame.

5. Shore Up Linebacker Pass Coverage

Opposing offenses knew that running the ball against Notre Dame's front seven would be a stiff challenge, but throwing the football against that same front seven was simply a small task.

Opposing quarterbacks, particularly Stanford's Andrew Luck, took advantage of the Irish linebackers' seeming inability to defend the pass.

For the defense to become an "elite" unit, Manti Te'o and his wrecking crew must improve in pass coverage.

4. Capture a Signature Victory

Elite coaches in college football establish themselves by capturing signature victories. Unfortunately, Brian Kelly hasn't accomplished that feat during his initial two seasons on the job in South Bend.

Kelly will have a plethora of opportunities to do so this season.

The Irish will meet preseason top 10 teams USC and Michigan, with both games likely to candidates for national game of the week.

A victory over one or both of those teams would speak volumes about Brian Kelly's coaching ability and the direction of the Notre Dame football program.

3. Establish a Clear Leader at Quarterback

As I've said for the last few months, Notre Dame must identify and establish a clear-cut leader at the quarterback position.

I've been vouching for sophomore-to-be Everett Golson to take the reigns, but believe Andrew Hendrix should be given an equal chance at the starting job.

Regardless of who the coaching staff chooses, it has a duty to stick with that choice and develop him into the leader and voice of the team.

2. Win 10 Games

After taking a look at Notre Dame's 2012 schedule, there's reason to believe that the Irish could win 10 games. The key word in that sentence is "could."

This a debatable topic, but Notre Dame simply does not have the horses to go on the road and beat USC or Oklahoma. In my mind, those two contests already have an "L" next to them on the schedule.

However, on the other 10 games on the schedule, Notre Dame will likely be penciled in as the favorite.

The hope here is that the Irish won't lose to a team they have no business losing to, as has been a common theme this decade.

1. Win a Bowl Game

From 1994 to 2008, Notre Dame failed to earn a victory in a bowl game. The streak ended with a win over Hawaii in the 2008 Hawaii Bowl. The Irish also defeated Miami in the 2010 Sun Bowl. My, how those days seem so far gone.

The script flipped last December, as Notre Dame blew a 14-point lead to Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl, eventually losing 18-14 to the Seminoles.

That history should make Notre Dame more than thirsty to grab a win in a bowl game, whether it be a BCS game or not.