One of the things you had to appreciate about Reggie Bush when he was dashing for touchdowns at the University of Southern California was the way he could sense an opening in the defense and accelerate to it.

Which is why it is a pity that Bush can’t — or won’t — run to the daylight with the opportunity before him now.

Not for the New Orleans Saints, but for himself in this whole Heisman Trophy controversy, the result of Bush and his family accepting improper benefits from agents in 2004 and ’05.

The Heisman Trophy Trust, caretaker of the Heisman legacy, has all but put up a neon sign in Times Square with the flashing suggestion that Bush cough up the Heisman before they have to come asking for it. Through leaks and speculation, the message is out there that, in light of the role Bush played in the NCAA sanctions assessed USC, they are considering taking the unprecedented action of stripping him of his statue.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I have a Heisman vote).

So severe were the penalties — four years of probation, a two-year bowl ban and the loss of 30 scholarships — and so intent is the school on distancing itself from the stain of the situation that it has all but disowned Bush.

If not for the chants of "R-e-g-g-i-e B-u-s-h!" that greeted the Trojans at Aloha Stadium, his name in the headlines and the force of the penalties, he’d be on his way to being forgotten there.

Bush’s replica statue has been removed from the Heisman collection in the lobby of Heritage Hall at USC and shipped back East. His No. 5 jersey has been taken down. He is persona non grata on campus and his accomplishments in the official media guide now come with asterisks. Nearly 100 of them are sprinkled throughout the 210-page book.

Bush belatedly got around to expressing some regret to USC athletic director Pat Haden last month, but wasn’t willing to quite cobble together an apology for his role in all that has befallen his alma mater.

And, that’s too bad. America’s sporting public is, for the most part, a forgiving lot. Gosh knows we’ve been through it enough that the formula is well established. Make a heartfelt apology — or a reasonable facsimile thereof — give some indication of having learned a lesson, go on Oprah or Barbara Walters to talk about it and people will come around.

But Bush, who held to the "I’m innocent" line throughout the laborious NCAA process, has refused to come clean long after the jury has come back with damning evidence. In that he has taken a page from the Pete Rose book of denial. He has, like the trophy itself, tried to straight arm what he refers to as the "Heisman stuff."

Not only has it not gone away; in time, of course, he will come to regret that stance if he hasn’t already. Especially if this year goes badly for the Trojans and those scholarship restrictions take an enduring bite out of their ability to contend for Pac-10 titles.

There’s going to be a point when renewing school ties or polishing his image will be important to Bush.

Too bad that, unlike the 2005 game when he gave quarterback Matt Leinart the infamous "Bush push" into the end zone to beat Notre Dame, 34-31, he can’t give himself one to daylight right now.