FanHouse ChrisForcier

Following last year's exodus of NFL-caliber talent (Sedrick Ellis, Keith Rivers, Dennis Dixon, Jonathan Stewart, and DeSean Jackson -- just to name a few) and a handful of preseason injuries, the start of 2008 in the Pac 10 brings a number of new faces whose ability (or inability) to step up and replace their predecessors will hugely impact the outcome of conference standings. From blue chip recruits to high-profile transfers and new coaches, here are five(ish) new faces in the Pac 10 that you'll want to keep an eye on.

1.) Rick Neuheisel, Norm Chow, and whoever survives being named starting QB - UCLA: Neither of the most-discussed new faces in the Pac 10 are actually new faces at all. The return of Neuheisel and Chow gives UCLA fans hopes of returning to regular college football relevance after the roller-coaster that was the Karl Dorrell era. But after an offseason that saw the Bruin quarterback spot turn into the most dangerous place this side of a Madden cover or Spinal Tap drum kit -- hobbling the two UCLA QBs with any game experience, Ben Olson and Patrick Cowan -- Neuheisel and Chow's baby blue debuts hinge largely on the ability of either Kevin Craft, a junior college transfer and/or redshirt freshman Chris Forcier to step in and lead the offense.

If anyone is having a rougher week than USC head coach Pete Carroll, it is UCLA coach Karl Dorrell. While Carroll was taking accountability for the Trojans' loss to Stanford with alumni on Monday, the Bruin head coach went into hiding.

According to the Los Angeles Times, " Requests to interview Dorrell on Monday night were turned away with the explanation that he could not be located."

If we were Dorrell, we'd go into hiding, too. His starting quarterback Ben Olson has been lost for the season with a knee injury. Backup Pat Cowan was already sidelined with a similar injury.

When Olson went down against winless Notre Dame, Dorrell was faced with three bad choices--play walkon McLeod Bethel-Thomspon, switch Osaar Rasshan back to the quarterback position he played for his first two years in Westwood or take the red shirt off of highly-touted frosh Chris Forcier.

If Cowan cannot recover in time for the Bruins' October 20 matchup with California, Dorrell will have to make the same decision again--and have some explaining to do if he diverts from the course chosen against the Irish.