2012 USC Trojans football season is NOT a bust.

For all you fans out there who can't tolerate this second loss, sit down and shut up for a moment between your tears.  The Trojans can still make a relevant move to the BCS, and here's how:

1. Beat Oregon.  Voters and computers love it when you beat a highly ranked team.
2. Beat ASU and UCLA, en route to a historic game with an undefeated Notre Dame.  Believe me, Notre Dame will be undefeated when they play USC, with just Pittsburgh (4 - 4), Boston College (2 - 6) and Wake Forest (4 - 4) left before that historic game at the Coliseum.
3. Beat a highly ranked Notre Dame.  Notre Dame has a decent chance to go into this game ranked #1 or #2, and again, computers and poll voters love it when you beat a top team.
4. Beat Oregon in a rematch, who has beaten a ranked Stanford and a ranked Oregon State, to show that USC's late season surge was no fluke.

I didn't say it was easy, but it is entirely possible for a 2-loss USC to make it back into the BCS NC discussion.  So where are we, today?

Positives:

• USC's offense with Marqise Lee and Robert Woods (but especially Marqise Lee)has been absolutely spectacular when clicking.
• USC's defense looked solid when playing with some rest (no 3-and-outs on offense).
• When Barkley has time to sit in the pocket, he can hit his players.
• McNeal, Redd and Morgan have solid running ability, and when they break loose they will take it to the house.
• USC has the best tight ends in the country, period.

Negatives:

• Mental focus is severely lacking.  There has been zero abatement of mental errors, whether they are personal fouls, jumping the snap, out of position, etc.
• Limited coaching experience.  When your team is getting outscored in the second half of games, it's safe to say that one side adjusted the game plan, while the other couldn't.  Preparing a solid game plan should not stop you from being able to improvise and adjust on the spot.  Trying to keep pushing the same game plan even as the other side has adjusted to it, is a waste of time.
• Stop waiting in the pocket to hit the home run.  Moving the ball is more important than scoring every six plays; dinking and dunking is a strategy to open up the home run, after all.  If they're two-deep in coverage, throw UNDER the coverage, not into the coverage.  THAT, is what you call rhythm.  3-and-outs because you'd rather hit the home run than move the ball, is killing the team.
• Stop pouting.  I've seen a lot of bad seasons and disappointment, but I've never seen a Trojan team pout as much as they have, this year.  To borrow part of a phrase from the President and merge it with USC's: DON'T POUT; FIGHT ON!

--- DON'T POUT; FIGHT ON! ---