Oct 20, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans offensive tackle Aundrey Walker (70) gestures as he is taken off the field on a cart after an injury during the game against the Colorado Buffaloes at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. USC defeated Colorado, 50-6. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

What Went Stood Out: Aundrey Walker is a behemoth of a man, standing at a casaul 6-foot-6 and throwing around 300-plus pounds of muscle and force. He is an intimidating force on the front line and he knows how to use his size to render those who go against him useless. When he was healthy, Walker was the difference between Barkley having time to make a play, and him having to scramble or get forced to the ground. This spring, he and fellow LT Max Tuerk will again battle for the LT spot, and his gift of size and strength give him a slight advantage over his competition.

What Needed Work:Staying healthy. Walker was hurt often in 2012, which really hindered his fluidity at the position. Beyond that, he was generally inconsistent and seemed to shy away from getting the starting spot over Tuerk. Walker has yet to really display that killer instinct that made the Trojans go all the way to Ohio to get him, and he needs to start making that evident if he wants to have the illustrious career it was suggested he would have.

Final Word:Walker has all of the mechanics and natural talent to excel as an offensive lineman at the collegiate level. He hasn’t shown it yet, but give him time to get healthy and work on his technique, and we could see an entirely different player in 2013 than we did this past season. It’s too early to call him a bust, however if he does not turn it around this spring, he could easily become another cautionary tale of What Could Have Been.

Nov 24, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans coach Lane Kiffin reacts during the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Notre Dame defeated USC 22-13. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

The 2012 season was full of disappointment for the Trojans and with those disappointments came a bevy of Epic Fails. Off the field and on the field, there was no shortage of moments for Trojan fans to shake their heads, face palm, or even attempt to rip out their hair in disgust. Here’s the Not-So-Top Ten Moments of the year:

10. Prep Not Hype

The team motto may have been painted on the practice field, but it failed to make a difference with a Trojan team that seemed to buy into the hype and consistently fell short in the prep.

9. Banning the Media

While it was plain to see what Coach Lane Kiffin was trying to do by no longer disclosing injury reports, the way he went about it created so much drama that any benefits got lost in a flurry of negative press and distractions. Worse, for Trojan fans it was the final nail in the coffin for the open practice era of USC football under Pete Carroll.

8. Deflate-gate

The Pac-12 fined and reprimanded the Trojans after it was determined that several game balls were not inflated to the right specifications during the first half of the Oregon game. A student manager was fired, but the whole controversy was just another unnecessary and embarrassing distraction during an already trying season.

7. Marqise Lee’s Fumble At the Half vs Oregon

With just under 30 seconds left in the half at the Oregon 15, USC had a chance to at least close within a touchdown or a field goal of the Ducks. Instead Lee coughed up the ball and Oregon went into the half up ten. Had the Trojans maintained possession and kicked for three points, the opening drive of the third quarter would have tied the game.

6. Missed Block Leads to Matt Barkley Injury vs UCLA

Aundrey Walker stood there looking around with no one in front of him to block.  Unfortunately that’s because UCLA’s Anthony Barr was already barreling down on Matt Barkely’s blindside, untouched. The hit was brutal and the shoulder injury Barkley sustained as a result could keep him out of the Trojans’ first bowl since 2009.

5. Third Quarter Ineptitude 

USC averaged just 5.2 points in the third quarter this season compared with 9.6 in the other quarters.  The Trojans were outscored in the third in eight of 12 games. Where Pete Carroll’s USC was known for second half adjustments, the 2012 Trojans rarely came out of the half better than they started.

4. 14 Point Hole vs Utah

It was a trap game on the road and the opening script of the Utah game screamed upset. First, senior captain Khaled Holmes’ bad snap was returned for a Ute touchdown on USC’s opening possession then Star Lotulelei blew up Holmes on the second play of USC’s second drive resulting in a fumble and an eventual touchdown. Luckily the Trojans were able to overcome the 14 point hole with a 38-28 victory.

3. 62 Points Given Up vs Oregon

It was the worst defensive performance in USC history, giving up 62 points, 730 yards and nine touchdowns. End of story.

2. First Play Interception vs UCLA

Matt Barkley’s 14th interception of the year set up UCLA’s first score against USC since 2010 before the Bruins jumped to an early 24-0 lead at the Rose Bowl. What makes this fail even better (or worse), it was the second week in a row USC turned the ball over on the first play of the game (Marqise Lee fumbled on the first play against Arizona State).

1. The Worst Goal Line Sequence Ever Called vs Notre Dame

When Marqise Lee put USC at the two-yard line with 5:40 left in the game down just nine points, it looked like the Trojans might be on their way to mounting a comeback against the top team in the country. Instead, USC fans were treated to eight plays of mind-blowing, hair-pulling, atrociously awful play calling, featuring four attempts to run straight at the heart of a Notre Dame defensive front that stopped even Stanford’s vaunted rushing attack (without a lead blocker) and a fourth down pass aimed at a freshman fullback instead of two of the greatest receivers to ever wear Cardinal and Gold.  The Trojans came away with no points, lost the game, and delivered the biggest Epic Fail of 2012.

Oct 4, 2012; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Southern California Trojans receiver Marqise Lee (9) is defended by Utah Utes safetry Eric Rowe (18) on an 83-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. USC defeated Utah 38-28. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

For this grading session, I am going to focus solely on the offensive side of the ball.  The Trojans came into the season with lofty expectations.  Those expectations included a Pac-12 title, a national championship, and a Heisman Trophy for their star quarterback.  To this point they have not lived up to those expectations.

This is a team that returned 10 of 11 starters on offense.  While the numbers they are putting up this season are comparable to those of 2011, the play calling has been extremely erratic which has caused drives to sputter and stall out.  This is an offense that seems to lack an identity and continuity – no sense of direction.

Through the first 5 games of 2011, Robert Woods and Marqise Lee accounted for 59% of the teams receptions (59.6% for the entire year).  By comparison, they currently account for 72.8% of the team’s receptions.  There is nothing in the game plan or by the design of the play calling to get others involved in the passing game.  There is no diversity or imagination in the play calling.

The middle of the field does not exist for the Trojans.  They have chosen to attack from the hash marks to the sideline almost exclusively.  This has allows opposing defenses to deploy coverage schemes to limit the effectiveness of Woods and Lee.

When the Trojans aren’t placing an emphasis on the run, which has been the case in numerous games this year, it allows for two deep coverage without the concern of getting beat down the seam or on a post by tight ends or slot receivers.

Lee is averaging just 12.5 yards per catch with Woods only mustering 8.8 yards per catch.  They were at 15.7 and 11.6 yards per catch respectively in 2011.  That is a decline of 3 yards for each receiver.  That is even with Lee getting a huge bump in his average from the game he had in Utah.  Prior to putting up 192 yards on 12 catches against the Utes – Lee was only averaged 11.5 yards per catch.

Upfront, the Trojans have gone to musical offensive linemen.  To be fair, some of it has been because of an ankle injury suffered by Khaled Holmes.  That doesn’t explain all of the shuffling though.

So far this year we have seen Holmes, Cyrus Hobbi, and Abe Markowitz at center.  We have also seen Marcus Martin and Markowitz at left guard.  Still again we have seen Aundrey Walker and Max Tuerk at left tackle.

This is a unit that did an outstanding job last year and returned 4 of 5 starters.  The only vacated position was that of left tackle.  Offensive line is a unit that must play as one.  It is important that they communicate with each other and a lot of that communication is non-verbal.  That is something that comes from playing with each other side by side.  Tinkering with the continuity here is very dangerous.

With this level of talent this Trojans’ offense should be forcing scoreboard operators to get finger cramps.  Yet they have severely underperformed and a lot of that falls on the man who calls the plays and designs the game plan each week.

Until Kiffin finds a way to get continuity on the line, spread the ball around to other receivers, and attack different parts of the field at every level – this team will continue to fall short of the many expectations placed upon it since Barkley made the decision to return to Troy for his senior year.

To this point in the season the Trojans have performed to a C- on offense.  With Oregon, Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, and Notre Dame still to come on the schedule; the Trojans will need to hit full stride.  They will have a tough road test against Washington that will give the opportunity to do that.