He loses his helmet but keeps his head

Free safety Rahim Moore went on a hunt after halftime.

Moore, knocked out of the game because of a concussion in the second quarter, frantically searched the sidelines for his helmet.

“They took it away from me and I was mad, real mad,” Moore said after a 24-16 loss to Stanford. “I was going to run onto the field and play if I found it.”

Instead, Moore remained on the sideline.

Coach Rick Neuheisel said the Bruins couldn’t afford to lose another starter in the secondary. The Bruins, who are thin on experience in the secondary, were already playing without starting cornerback Aaron Hester.

Moore leads the team with five interceptions. He was injured in a collision with Stanford tight end Coby Fleener on an incomplete pass.

The insult added to injury was Moore’s being called for a personal foul on the third-down play, which extended a Stanford touchdown drive.

“They’re alive and we lose a very, very talented safety who you just know is going make plays in the game,” Neuheisel said.

“Rahim was trying hard to get back in the game. Wisely, our doctors said not to do that and we obviously concurred with that decision. Hopefully, his head will clear. I think it’s pretty clear right now.”

It seemed to be, as after the game Moore rethought his effort to find his helmet.

“I told myself, ‘There are worse things to lose, man, like your life,’ ” Moore said.

Finishing kick

UCLA was unable to turn offensive efforts into touchdowns during the first half.

The Bruins had a second and four at the Stanford 16 on their first drive. Quarterback Kevin Craft threw two incomplete passes and Kai Forbath kicked a 29-yard field goal.

UCLA also got to the Stanford 16 with time running out in the first half and settled for a 34-yard field goal by Forbath.

UCLA has scored on its opening drive in all four of its games. But three of those were field goals.

“We’re putting up points on that first drive, but we’re getting field goals and we need touchdowns,” offensive coordinator Norm Chow said. “That always hurts.”

Streak ends

Stanford ended a five-game losing streak against UCLA.

“Ever since I’ve been here, I never lost to Stanford, so this is a real hard one for me,” UCLA defensive end Korey Bosworth said.

Quick hits

Tailback Johnathan Franklin, who had a team-high 58 yards rushing, scored UCLA’s only touchdown on a one-yard run in the third quarter. . . . Stanford’s Chris Owusu, who has returned three kickoffs for touchdowns this season, had only one chance Saturday because Bruins kicker Jeff Locke was able to put the ball deep into the end zone for touchbacks.

Owusu’s only return was for 33 yards.

--

chris.foster@latimes.com

twitter.com/cfosterlatimes