USC Football: Ranking Lane Kiffin's Toughest Challenges in 2012

Perhaps this slide show should be renamed "Naming Rick McMahan's toughest challenges in finding Lane Kiffin's toughest challenges in 2012."

Because in developing a list of this nature, I was truly pressed to come up with these perceived difficulties that Kiffin would have to overcome this year.

Yes, there are tremendous expectations for the 2012 Trojans and okay, perhaps along with that comes hurdles that I am overlooking.

But the obvious trappings that come with such incredible expectations won't be there with these Trojans.

Concerns with keeping focus?

Not with this crew...not when you have been shut out of postseason play for two years.

Overlooking opponents?

Ditto.

Maintaining hunger?

These Trojans are ravenous.

No, with the coaching and veteran leadership prevalent in the 2012 version of the men of Troy, the typical concerns one might associate with such a highly regarded team simply are not present.

Nonetheless, this is the assignment I was handed so here are some challenges Coach Kiffin will have in the upcoming season.

No. 5: Dealing with the Hype

As stated in the introductory slide, this is a hungry team laden with veteran leadership.

Led by a focused coaching staff that has been there before, Kiffin will attempt to temper the expectations that will only grow as the season progresses.

Week in and week out, he will have to deal with questions regarding his team's performance.

When the Trojans win, it won't be by enough points.

Rarely will media be satisfied and there will always be questions.

How Kiffin deals with the hype that the media heaps upon his team will be a season long challenge.

No. 4: Working on Getting His Draft Eligible Players to Stay

Though this may not come immediately to mind, one of Lane Kiffin's greatest challenges over the next three years will be to get draft eligible juniors to stick around for their senior year.

This is because with the NCAA sanctions mandating that USC only have 15 scholarships available over the next two years AND a 75 scholarship roster limitation, which means that the Trojans can't afford to lose any players beyond those who are graduating anyway.

By 2014, the last year that scholarship reductions will be in place, USC may only have 50 or so scholarship players on the roster so it is critical that Kiffin starts working on getting his players to stay for the full eligibility.

And that starts this year because the numbers crunch begins next year.

No. 3: Planning for the Future

Not unlike dealing with the hype that accompanies such high expectations, Kiffin will also have to balance the continuity of maintaining a high profile program's competitive season with a need to plan for the future.

Should the coach keep his foot on the gas pedal when blowing out a hapless opponent simply to pad stats and please poll voters or should he start to "season" players who inevitably will take the field as likely starters in 2013?

Both sides of the argument have merit and each will have to be delicately balanced by a coach who will be tugged in both directions.

Play Matt Barkley (or another starter) in a blowout or prepare for 2013 and beyond?

It's a challenge and one that Kiffin will have to deal with in 2012.

No. 2: Oregon

I suppose this slide could have been reserved for Stanford, who is still a good team and has beaten the Trojan three years running but this year, I think the Cardinal will be out of "luck."

Bad puns aside, this year, the Trojans primary thorn in their side should be Oregon, who, in addition to still being a very good team, will likely require USC to beat them twice for the Trojans to end up where they want to be: in the BCS championship.

The good news is that the Trojans get the Ducks at home before their likely conference championship match-up which probably also will be played at the Coliseum.

Like I said, Oregon will still be good and beating any good team twice in the same season is a daunting chore.

That is a tough challenge to be sure.

No. 1: Dealing with Depth Issues

For the most part, the 2012 USC Trojans are stacked.

For the most part.

The reality is USC has some units with serious depth issues.

The two that come to mind are the running backs with only two players—Curtis McNeal and D.J. Morgan—who have game experience and defensive tackle, which has almost no experience behind the likely starters, George Uko and J.R. Tavai.

Also of concern may be wide receiver where if either Robert Woods (who is coming back from off-season surgery) or Marqise Lee fall to injury, there may also be depth issues from an experience (or lack thereof) standpoint.

Coach Kiffin will have to manage these units carefully until he can find confidence in players who have not proven they can get the job done in a real game.

This year's version of the men of Troy have an opportunity to be very special but it can all come crashing down if the above mentioned units falter.

For this reason, possible depth issues is Lane Kiffin's No. 1 challenge.

Conclusion

Let's face it, the college football season presents an abundance of challenges throughout the year and not just during the playing portion of the campaign.

Making sure your players keep their grades up and stay out of trouble, monitoring the recruiting landscape, keeping tabs on new trends in the sport and, of course, game planning for opponents are just a few of the myriad of challenges Lane Kiffin faces each and every year as the head man at USC.

The preceding slides were an attempt to glean some insight into some of the less obvious difficulties the coach will face this year when so much is expected from a highly touted team.

And there will be others too that manifest themselves as the season progresses.

But followers of the program can take heart in that when they do, USC has a coach that has already dealt with adversity and has done a marvelous job so far.

And that is all a fan base can ask for.