USC Football: 10 Reasonable Goals for 2012

As spring ball comes to a close on Saturday, the smell of dirty uniforms mixed with hope will linger in the locker rooms for the next several months.

Come August, it will be time to address that "unfinished business" that lured Matt Barkley and T.J. McDonald back for one more year. But every good businessman knows you need a strong set of goals in order to measure success.

Here are 10 reasonably achievable goals that the Trojans should post up on the bulletin board until January.

Lane Kiffin Is Name Pac-12 Coach of the Year

Not everyone agreed when the conference named Stanford’s David Shaw as their Coach of the Year. Many thought that Andrew Luck and the Cardinal’s seniors were more responsible for the second consecutive BCS Bowl game than the first-year head coach.

And some thought he was still riding on the success left over from the Harbaugh regime.   

Kiffin’s team went from an 8-5 record to 10-2 in a year while still under a postseason ban. He did it with a predominantly underclassman team, too. (USC finished the year five freshman All-Americans.) That’s some pretty good coaching.

If he can do just as well if not better while battling the Trojans’ first year of scholarship reduction, the conference should have no choice but give him a pat on the back.

Robert Woods Wins the Biletnikoff Award

Woods was a finalist for the prestigious award as a true sophomore and lost to 2010’s winner Justin Blackmon (He is the first two-time winner since Michael Crabtree and the second in history). With Blackmon entering the NFL Draft, that basically leaves the door wide open for Woods. With Matt Barkley returning for his senior year, all odds are in the junior’s favor.

If he wins, he will be USC’s first ever Biletnikoff Award winner.

D.J. Morgan Becomes a Consistent No. 2 Running Back

Right now, USC has one proven, reliable running back returning for next season in Curtis McNeal. But there is no way one man can carry the load alone.

He will need not just a backup, but a reliable one. This spring, it looked like Morgan’s world-class speed has finally returned two years after knee surgery. If he can hold onto the ball and have a consistent output, USC won’t have to worry about wearing out McNeal.

Marqise Lee Earns a All-American Nomination

Lee looks like he is on track to follow in the footsteps of Robert Woods. After surpassing Woods’ freshman stats, he was named a Freshman All-American.

Now the sophomore will have to compete with upperclassman around the country to earn that title as a true sophomore, but he is definitely in the right situation to get it. Already, critics are saying that Lee and Woods are the best receiving tandem in the nation.

If that can increase their production from 2011, there is no reason why he shouldn’t receive the title.

Matt Barkley Goes to New York as a Heisman Finalist

A last minute media campaign couldn’t get the junior a free trip to New York in 2011, but he is already being called the Heisman front-runner going into the 2012 season. Though it is way too early to start making bets in Vegas on if he will actually win the bronze trophy, the early publicity should at the very least ensure that he will be a finalist this year.

If his output increases, then he’s probably a lock for the top three. If USC ends up in the Rose Bowl or BCS National Championship, he’ll be adding some bronze hardware to Heritage Hall.

Curtis McNeal Surpasses the 1,000 Yard Mark Again

Last year, McNeal capped off his first ever 1,000-yard season when hit 1,005 in the last game of the regular season against UCLA.

He only started the last four games of the season, but this year he is starting off as the Trojans’ No. 1 back. He has been working all spring to eliminate some of his weaknesses that hindered him last year, so look for him to surpass his previous record by a good amount.

Side note: He also won USC’s Courage Award in 2011. What does that mean? He never gives up. Ever.

Go Undefeated in the Coliseum

The Coliseum used to be the place where the Trojans were untouchable. USC had won 35 straight home games until Stanford won 24-23 in 2007. USC basically picked up where they left off until the 2009 season. But consecutive 9-4 a

nd 8-5 seasons were filled with memories that Los Angelenos would care to forget. In 2011, their single home loss was to—go figure—Stanford.

Not only do they have a solid chance to go undefeated at home this year, if they want to be looked at as a national contender, they probably should.

Which brings us to our next goal...

Beat Stanford

Stanford has won four of the last five meetings. The Cardinal’s 2007 win was called the upset of the year and it snapped the Trojans’ 35 home-game win streak.

Though USC answered back by beating them in Palo Alto in 2008, they haven’t been able to do much against their Nor Cal rival since. And last year’s triple overtime loss in the Coliseum didn’t help ease the tension between these two foes.

Even if USC doesn’t finish the season undefeated, the one team they finally need to beat is Stanford.

Finish with at Least a 10-2 Record

USC exceeded expectations last season. Now, they need to do at least as well in 2012 as they did in 2011.

Had they been bowl eligible last year, they would have played in the Pac-12 Championship game for a Rose Bowl bid. They have had a year to build on that progress, and have 19 returning starters.

So, common sense says the bar is raised and they are looking to do better.

Win the Pac-12 Conference

USC’s motto should be “BCS or Bust.” 

The Trojans only have two options in their first year of bowl eligibility: The Rose Bowl or the BCS National Championship. In their path is one crucial task. They must win the conference.

Getting second place and going to a second-tier bowl would simply be anti-climactic and disappointing. And do you really want to cross your fingers for an at-large bid from another BCS bowl game if they don't win the championship game?

No.

Matt Barkley and T.J. McDonald did not return to this season to play in the "Insert-Sponsor-Here" Bowl.