UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel liked some of what he saw in opening loss, but it’s what’s up front that counts

Rick Neuheisel says he saw “enough good things” on the Kansas State game tape to convince the UCLA coach that “there are better days ahead.”

That, however, would seem to hinge on future tapes’ not turning into highlight reels for opposing running backs.

The Bruins gave up 313 yards rushing Saturday, 234 by Daniel Thomas. That allowed Kansas State to hold onto the ball for 35 minutes 56 seconds in a 31-22 victory.

Old news, 24 hours later, that would seem to require a new solution.

“The defensive front, their technique came into play and they lost contain a couple times,” Neuheisel said on a Sunday conference call. “. . . The fundamental stuff we can get corrected.”

Better tackling is a more difficult issue.

The Bruins have not tackled in a scrimmage setting since Aug. 21, and Neuheisel indicated there was little chance of that changing.

His concerns about depth and further injuries still outweigh the benefits of more realistic simulated game situations.

“We can do drills, and we’ll talk about going live for a period against the scout team,” Neuheisel said. But, he added, “We’ve got to do what is prudent.”

Neuheisel pointed to the loss of center Kai Maiava (broken ankle) and defensive end Datone Jones (broken foot) in training camp, though Jones’ injury did not occur during “live” action.

“We’ll continue to talk about it, and be creative,” Neuheisel said. “But it’s difficult to do [a live scrimmage] without taking risks.”

What might have been

The UCLA defense probably could have used Willie Mobley and Taniela Maka. Both were expected to be in the defensive mix this season, but neither was admitted to UCLA for academic reasons.

Mobley, a defensive tackle, attempted to transfer from Ohio State a year ago. He is at Arizona. Maka, a linebacker, committed to UCLA and was part of the 2009 recruiting class. He is at Nevada Las Vegas.

Silver lining

A positive development, one of the few, along the defensive front was that middle linebacker Patrick Larimore appeared to have what it takes to run the defense, as well as the ability to make plays.

Defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough said that “there weren’t a lot of checks he missed, certainly nothing glaring.”

Larimore had seven tackles, including two for losses, one of which was a sack. He also forced a fumble.

On offense

Neuheisel said there were “four or five” dropped passes during the game. The most damaging, he felt, was Taylor Embree’s failure to corral a Kevin Prince pass inside the five-yard line.

“Taylor catches that 99 times out 100,” Neuheisel said. But, he added, “If that ball is two or three yards out in front of him, he walks in.”

Prince appeared “rusty,” Neuheisel said, after missing nearly three weeks because of a torn back muscle. UCLA had the ball inside the Kansas State 30-yard line three times and settled for field goals after incompletions on third down, two of which were drops.

“I think he was reading well, but his feet were not at game speed,” Neuheisel said. “His accuracy was average at best.”

Price completed nine of 26 passes for 120 yards and had two passes intercepted.

chris.foster@latimes.com

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