Seau Is Too Much for Wildcats : USC: Outside linebacker, once again a dominating force on defense, draws praise after helping limit Arizona to 158 rushing yards.

Dick Tomey has been either an assistant or head coach for 27 years and, in all that time, he said he has never seen a more dominant defensive player than USC’s Junior Seau.

“He’s the best player I’ve ever been on the field against as a coach,” said the Arizona coach. “He’s a force.”

USC’s defense was the force Saturday at Arizona Stadium, where the Trojans clinched a Rose Bowl bid for the third consecutive year with a 24-3 victory over Arizona.

Seau, a junior outside linebacker, had only one sack to improve on his school record to 15. However, he had five unassisted tackles that left the Wildcats with 23 yards in losses.

But statistics don’t always reflect his dominance on the field.

“We didn’t block him on the run, or the pass and no one has all year,” Tomey said. “He would be there to make the play no matter where the ball went.”

Tomey said that Seau lined up at nose tackle, end, or linebacker, while harassing quarterback Ronald Veal and the running backs.

“Running away from him doesn’t help, because he’ll run you down from behind,” Tomey said.

When informed of Tomey’s praise, the 6-foot-3, 245-pound Seau said:

“That puts a lot of pressure on me. We have a great defense that complements me. Give them the credit.”

USC restricted Arizona to 16 net yards passing, the fewest allowed by the Trojans since Iowa had minus 11 yards in 1976.

However, Arizona is more renowned as a running team, averaging 245.2 yards before Saturday’s game to lead the Pacific 10 Conference in that category.

But the Trojans shut down the Wildcats, yielding 158 yards.

Veal seemed stunned as he sat on a bench in the Arizona dressing room. He sprained both of his ankles late in the game while being sacked and he spoke softly.

“Yes, that’s the best defense I’ve played against by far. You saw what they did to us,” he said. “Their defense was quick and beat us off the line, and their secondary beat us to the corners.”

As for Seau, Veal said, “He’s relentless.”

USC came into the game leading the nation in rushing defense, yielding an average of 51.9 yards a game.

The Samoan-born Seau just smiled when defense became a topic of discussion.

“We can’t win a national championship,” Seau said, referring to USC’s 8-2 record. “But we can be a national champion defensive team.”

Tomey said that USC’s offense is good, but added that the defense is the predominant edge for the Trojans.

“It may be the best in college football,” the Arizona coach said.

“As for Seau, I can’t say enough about him.”

Tomey coached Seau’s brother, David, a fullback, when he was Hawaii’s coach before becoming Arizona’s coach in 1987.

He tried to recruit Seau for Arizona, but lost out to USC. However, Seau lost his freshman year of eligibility under the Proposition 48 academic ruling.

Seau disrupts offenses just by his presence.

“I saw Veal peeking at me as early as the second quarter,” Seau said. “So I knew we were doing something right.”

USC free safety Mark Carrier was wearing a cut off T-shirt with the words “Go East Side” stamped across the front of it. A small rose was also adorning the shirt.

Carrier said that several of the Trojans were wearing the “Go East Side” T-shirt, signifying tough, dedicated guys from the east side of town.

He also said that USC altered its defensive scheme for Veal, who at times is an option quarterback.

“We had someone going after Veal on almost every play,” Carrier said. “We didn’t do it that much against Notre Dame and Tony Rice.”

Rice, Notre Dame’s skilled option quarterback, was a decisive factor in the Irish’s 24-20 win over USC on Oct 21.

“The difference in our defense this year as compared to last year is that we are attacking more now,” Carrier said. “We want to set the tone from the start.”

Tomey, a former UCLA assistant coach, was gracious in the loss that eliminated his team from the Rose Bowl race.

“USC is a great team and they’ll make a great representative for the league,” he said.

It’s likely that USC will play Michigan in the Rose Bowl game in a rematch.

How does USC match up against Michigan?

“I would think USC would fare well against anyone,” Tomey said.