UCLA had tackling issues against Kansas State, so it was curious to see that freshman safety Dietrich Riley -- who had established himself as a bone-jarring hitter during fall camp -- did not get on the field to help shore up the run defense.

Coach Rick Neuheisel said Riley was on the edge of playing almost the entire game, but something kept the coach from calling his name.

"There were probably two or three times where we said get Dietrich ready, but the game is so close and you have Tony Dye and Rahim Moore who both have a number of starts under their belt," Neuheisel said. "Can you risk a guy going in there and not knowing exactly what to do?"

Neuheisel then answered his own question.

"Ultimately, yes, you can," he said. "We just didn’t pull the trigger the other day. But we will because Dietrich Riley is going to be a great player and I believe that he’s ready to play and we’ve got to let him go."