Dennis Can’t Get Started This Season

A month after returning from a near-monthlong suspension for violating team rules, USC running back Hershel Dennis waits in frustration for an opportunity.

Dennis, a junior, started every game and led the Trojans in rushing last season.

He said Thursday that he often thinks about the chance he lost.

“When I’m watching the game from the sideline, I think about it all the time,” said Dennis, who has hardly played behind sophomores LenDale White and Reggie Bush. “That really messed me up. It set me back a lot of steps.

“I just have to work my way back in there and stay positive.”

Dennis carried three times for 18 yards late in the game against Brigham Young and had one carry for one yard against Stanford. He did not play against California.

Offensive coordinator Norm Chow pulled Dennis aside after practice Thursday and counseled him about the need to stay ready.

“He could see the frustration in me,” Dennis said. “I’m not out there complaining about it, nagging or loafing. He could just tell my body language. He was telling me to hang in there.”

Said Chow: “I told him, ‘Don’t get discouraged, your time is going to come.’ We need him and he has to help us.”

White, the team’s rushing leader, is expected to get the bulk of the carries Saturday when the top-ranked Trojans play No. 15 Arizona State at the Coliseum.

White rushed for 140 yards in 21 carries against the Sun Devils last season.

“Whatever happens, I’ll be ready,” Dennis said. “Whenever they’re ready to give me the opportunity, I’ll be ready to take advantage.”

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Defensive tackle Manuel Wright wore a protective device on his injured right elbow and will play Saturday.... Coach Pete Carroll said redshirt freshman Eric Wright would be the first cornerback off the bench against Arizona State.... About 200 tickets remain available for Saturday’s game, a USC athletic department official said.... Record attendance last season and a second consecutive appearance in a bowl championship game are expected to help USC’s athletic department show an increased profit when the school releases a report that all universities are required to file today with the Department of Education as part of Title IX compliance. In last year’s reporting for the 2002-03 school year, USC had a surplus of $12,000, the first time since the 1998-99 school year that USC balanced its budget.