Head coach Lane Kiffin enters his second full season at the helm of the University of Southern California Trojans football program. Despite facing another year with an already set non-appearance in the postseason, Kiffin has the squad focused, motivated and anxious to begin this season at full strength. And this campaign’s team is quite talented, thus prompting the No. 25 preseason ranking.

In 2010 when debuting as a coach for USC, Kiffin posted an 8-5 record with the Trojans. That mark should improve this season. What is even more promising is that the NCAA has ruled in favor of Kiffin pertaining to his troubles at Tennessee. With no penalties, the NCAA Committee cleared Kiffin of any major violations while head coaching the Volunteers. This is colossal news for Kiffin, USC and its Director of Athletics, Pat Haden.

“I’m very grateful to the NCAA, the Committee on Infractions and its chairman, Dennis Thomas, for a very fair and thorough process,” Kiffin says through a press release. “I’m also very grateful that we were able to accurately and fairly present the facts in our case, and that no action was taken against us. I’m pleased that the NCAA based its decision on the facts and not on perception. I’m also very grateful that the Tennessee football program was cleared of any wrongdoing.” At least for now, Kiffin’s job is secure since these allegations proved him innocent.

“We obviously were pleased to learn about the NCAA’s ruling today regarding Lane Kiffin. I appeared at Lane’s NCAA hearing, and I believe the NCAA’s decision is fair and based on the facts presented,” Haden states in the press release. “I’m glad this is behind us now, and I know Lane feels the same way. From the time he arrived at USC, Lane Kiffin has been extremely compliant regarding NCAA rules and I feel confident that he will continue to be so.” Now that these events are behind Kiffin and thus the USC football program, Kiffin can truly concentrate at the task at hand: winning as many games as possible while recruiting the best players for the 2012 season. Yes, both are very reachable, especially in the beginning.

USC opens with a three-game homestand, which could virtually set them up for a 3-0 start. Minnesota pays the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum a visit on Saturday, Sept. 3, but the following two games will be a bit more interesting. The Trojans face Utah and Syracuse back to back. However, since they are at home, USC could simply escape the matches with victories, demolishing these particular opponents.

Additionally, the men of Troy have three prominent affairs against some of the best competition in the nation. They play at No. 16 Notre Dame (Oct. 22), host No. 7 Stanford (Oct. 29) and visit No. 3 Oregon (Nov. 19). And, of course, USC still has its showdown against cross-town rival UCLA at season’s end on Nov. 26. The Trojans could go undefeated at 12-0, but even a 9-3 or 10-2 record could happen with this talented unit. Just how talented are the Trojans? Extremely talented. USC’s depth will be its strength yet again, both defensively and offensively.

Junior Matt Barkley returns as the sole quarterback starter and the leader for the USC offense. Last season, Barkley threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 26 touchdowns with a completion percentage of 62.6 percent. The only area where he needs to improve is in tossing interceptions, where he committed 12.

On the rushing side, Marc Tyler will lead the carry load. Tyler is beyond talented as a running back, but his off-field issues have led to questions for his success on the field. He rushed for 930 yards last season.

USC’s secret weapon, however, is Robert Woods. A sophomore who attended Carson High School, Woods is legitimately the biggest threat for the dangerous offense. Woods did not see that much production offensively last year, but we can classify it as a shining season because he was a freshman. He posted 65 receptions, nearly 800 receiving yards and six touchdowns. In kick-off returns, he came close to collecting 1,000 yards. He is a dangerous athlete, an exciting receiver and a productive returner.

With head coach Kiffin’s father, Monte Kiffin, leading the defensive side, the Trojans can very well count in solid stats for its defense. But the defensive squad will not be truly tested until battling Notre Dame in Indiana. And the contests against Stanford and Oregon will be wars, and the squad’s defense who steps up at clutch times will give their respective group a win.

In their Aug. 21 scrimmage, the offense looked very sharp; Barkley connected with Woods for three touchdowns.

“We got a lot of things done in this scrimmage that we were hoping. The passing game really got going,” Kiffin says after the scrimmage. “We had already seen the running game in past scrimmages, so it was more critical to get the passing game going. It was great to see the effect a healthy Woods can have, and (Marqise) Lee was phenomenal.”

Defensively, USC played well, but certain areas can be improved upon.

“Our first-team defense did really well against the run,” Kiffin adds. “But it’s always hard to judge scrimmages, because when you’re making big plays on one side, it means you're giving up something on the other side.”

Kiffin is momentarily doing things right. After this season concludes, it is just a matter of time before he leads the Trojans to BCS games.