Arizona State Football: 10 Reasonable Goals for the 2012 Season

With the Arizona State Sun Devils essentially clearing house after another dismal season, it is difficult to really determine what to expect from the team in 2012.

Under coach Dennis Erickson, the Sun Devils went 6-7 in 2011, which was a disappointing end result as the team looked like contenders in the early goings.

The collapse eventually led to the end of Erickson's run with the Devils, as well as that of athletic director Lisa Love.

The team will be under the control of former Pittsburgh Panthers' head coach Todd Graham, and he will have much to do to make sure this team gets moving back into the right direction.

With high expectations out the door, here are 10 reasonable goals for the Sun Devils in 2012.

Make Discipline Priority No. 1

If one thing was clear during Dennis Erickson's tenure as head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils, it was that the team was incredibly undisciplined. 

The Sun Devils actually led the NCAA in penalty yards last season with 1,037 yards on 104 penalties. While they weren't always at the top, they were always within the top 20—a stat they should not be proud of.

Todd Graham's Pittsburgh Panthers last season had just 69 penalties for 513 yards—which ranked 97th versus the top Sun Devils.

While it will remain to be seen if he will be able to easily translate that style of discipline to the desert, it has to be priority No. 1.

Win At Least 5 Games

The Arizona State Sun Devils won't have the easiest schedule around, but there is no reason that coach Todd Graham won't be able to win at least five games this season.

With opponents like the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, Illinois Fighting Illini, Utah Utes and UCLA Bruins all coming to Tempe this season, the team should be able to at least capitalize on home-field advantage to claim a victory in these games.

The Illini and Bruins both will have new coaches, while the Utes didn't stand a chance last year as the Sun Devils took them down 35-14 on the road.

There will be a few more tougher road games on the schedule, but giving the Colorado Buffaloes another beatdown is a realistic expectation.

Perhaps a win against the Washington State Cougars at home could be a possibility, or the possible upset down in Tucson against the Arizona Wildcats.

Both teams handled the Sun Devils last year, but maybe things will be different this time around.

Otherwise, the thought of the Sun Devils taking down the USC Trojans, Oregon Ducks or even Missouri Tigers at this point is nothing more than a pipe dream.

Find Consistency

During the Arizona State Sun Devils' first six games last season, the team went 5-1 while outscoring their opponents 212-117.

The defense was strong—check that—relentless. Teams actually feared playing the Sun Devils at the start of 2011.

That would quickly change, as the Sun Devils finished the season 1-6, including a 56-24 loss to the Boise State Broncos in the MAACO Bowl in Las Vegas.

The Sun Devils' defense was nowhere to be found, as the team was just dominated in scoring, giving up 249 to their 219.

While the offense was somewhat on par, the defense gave up 132 more points with just one extra game. Actually, that game against the Broncos and the Oregon Ducks, which started the collapse, accounted for 97 of the 249 points they gave up in the second half of the year.

Clearly, the team must be consistent. This goes hand-in-hand with discipline, but both must be ideal goals to get the year stared.

Increase In State Recruiting

After Todd Graham was able to land top in-state recruit D.J. Foster from Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, the team should make sure they do their best to land other top recruits from the area.

Foster definitely turned some heads as he stayed true to his roots despite the school's rebuilding, so Coach Graham better hope it will result in similar results for many years to come.

There are just two remaining Arizona products in Rivals.com's Top 100 recruits for 2013, so we'll see if Graham can land them.

Get Running Back Cameron Marshall National Recognition

Going into his senior season, it is time for Arizona State running back Cameron Marshall to emerge as a major star in 2012.

The oft-injured back still managed to run for over 1,000 yards last season, as well as scoring 18 touchdowns despite dealing with a nagging ankle injury most of the 2011 season.

Marshall can clearly go off any given week, as he ran for 141 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries against the USC Trojans back in Week 4 of last season.

With question marks everywhere else, there is no doubt that Marshall could quickly emerge as the go-to guy on offense all season long.

Get a Player Named to the First All-Pac-12 Conference Team

Besides for the Arizona State Sun Devils' epic collapse last season, nothing was more disappointing than not having a single player named to the All-Pac-12 Conference First Team.

While preseason expectations were there for linebacker Vontaze Burfict, his fallout with the team ultimately led to nobody being selected.

The team did have three players named to the second team, including seniors OL Garth Gerhart and DB Clint Floyd, as well as return specialist Jamal Miles.

In all likelihood, a player like Cameron Marshall could make this spot, but Miles also has a fine chance to make a return if he has a season like last year.

Don't Miss Critical Field Goals, or Any at That

If you wish, you can give Arizona State Sun Devils' kicker Alex Garoutte the benefit of the doubt for his dismal 2011 campaign due to the fact that he was a freshman.

Nonetheless, the kid still went 15-for-22, a number that just won't be acceptable in 2012.

Of the field goals he missed, one resulted in the team going to overtime with the Missouri Tigers, losing by three to the Illinois Illini and losing by one to the UCLA Bruins as he missed all three of his attempts.

It's a clean slate, though, so hopefully Garoutte will find a bit more accuracy to get things going in a better direction for him and the team.

Designate a Primary Receiver

For the Sun Devils last year, wide receiver Gerell Robinson stood out so far from the rest that it may be hard for the team to find a new primary target that will be just as good.

Jamal Miles will be back, but it will remain to be seen how much of an impact the 5'10" receiver will make in the passing game. He can definitely score, as he reached the end zone six times last year, but besides that his 361 yards did not touch Robinson's 1,397.

Actually, nobody did. The closest receiver to him was Aaron Pflugrad, who had 665 total receiving yards.

The floor is open for anyone to step up and take the role, but who knows if anyone will be able to actually fill the big shoes that Robinson left.

Designate a Team Leader

Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, they lost their main team leader in offensive lineman Garth Gerhart.

With the senior heading out no matter what, many were likely looking to junior starting quarterback Brock Osweiler to fill the void in 2012.

Unfortunately he opted to head to the draft as well, leaving the team looking for a leader.

There are plenty of options, but it will remain to be seen if a guy like Cameron Marshall, Jamal Miles or maybe even Kyle Middlebrooks will emerge as that guy next season.

Perhaps a few of the defensive players in Osahon Irabor or Deveron Carr will emerge into a similar role as well, but they first must turn this defense around before being looked upon to lead the entire team.

Buy into Coach Graham Immediately

Perhaps nothing is more important than the players buying into their new coach's system.

According to AZCentral.com's Jeff Metcalfe, Graham has been satisfied with how scrimmages are going in the early goings but acknowledges that things must continue to move in that direction.

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Arizona State football coach Todd Graham was pleased with the first spring practice after a scrimmage, particularly the offensive success in short-yardage, goal-line and 2-point situations.

He also said the scrimmage was 'a lot better than I first thought.'

'A lot of people get to the seventh, eighth day of spring and they start losing that fire about what they're doing,' Graham said. 'We've got to continue to push.'

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Graham definitely is a refreshing face for the team, especially for those who have been around for the last two or three seasons, experiencing their former coach in Dennis Erickson essentially becoming a lame duck.

Things should be different much different in 2012, but that all truly depends on the players buying into what their new coach is selling.

Jeff Chase is a Featured Columnist for the Chicago Cubs and Arizona State football.
Follow @Real_Jeff_Chase