ROSE BOWL / WISCONSIN BADGERS 21, UCLA BRUINS 16 : Badger Tailback Rotation Leaves Bruins Seeing Red : Wisconsin: Moss and Fletcher aren’t particularly big, but their effort--as always--is huge.

Wisconsin was the home team Saturday in the Rose Bowl and red-clad Badger fans--who seemed to outnumber UCLA backers by more than two to one--made it look and sound like merely another Saturday in Camp Randall Stadium.

The Bruins, who must have wondered where all the red shirts came from in the stands, must have wondered, too, where all the red-shirted tailbacks came from in the Wisconsin backfield.

Brent Moss and Terrell Fletcher, junior running backs who have shared time all season in leading Wisconsin to the Big Ten championship, ran over and around UCLA defenders for 222 yards in a 21-16 upset of the Bruins. Moss got 158 yards and two touchdowns in 36 carries, earning him the game’s most-valuable-player award.

“It was a typical performance by Moss,” Badger Coach Barry Alvarez said. “Very workmanlike. He gets his 150 to 200 yards like a guy packing his lunch pail and going to work.”

Still, Alvarez, victorious in his first Rose Bowl game as a head coach, thought the Badgers could have done better.

“We felt we could run the ball better than we did today,” he said.

The Moss-Fletcher system works this way: Each player--each is 5 feet 9 and about 200 pounds--runs the ball for two series of downs at the start of the game and whoever does better gets most of the calls the rest of the day.

Moss set the tone on the first scrimmage play when he went through the Bruins’ line for eight yards. After a UCLA field goal, Wisconsin got the ball back and it was Moss around right end, Moss over center, Moss off left guard for 11 yards--mixed in with some Darrell Bevell passes--and finally Moss going over tackle for the Badgers’s first touchdown after a 78-yard drive.

Fletcher’s turn came next, but he wasn’t able to generate a first down. When he got another chance, at the start of the second half, he swept around right end for 33 yards--the day’s longest gain.

“We’ve been doing this all year long,” Fletcher said. “Every place we’ve been, no one thought we could do it. People said we were too slow, we were too small, we couldn’t do the job, but we kept on doing it. We had a lot to prove, Wisconsin never winning here before, and stuff like that. I think we quieted down a lot of people today. I think we did the Big Ten proud, and that’s important.”

Moss, after receiving the MVP award from former Olympic decathlon champion Rafer Johnson--who was wearing a UCLA sweatshirt--said he was overwhelmed by the moment.

“I can’t put it into words what it means to me,” Moss said. “Winning the Rose Bowl, then getting the MVP, I just don’t know what to say.

“I did what I did because I had a lot of red-shirted guys in front of me, and I just went where they led me. I felt I was successful because I am a physical running back who stays low and level when moving, and I have a great offensive line and fullback.”

The fullback, Mike Montgomery, was one of four players--two Bruins and two Badgers--who were ejected midway in the third quarter for scuffling after a play had ended.

“Losing Montgomery really hurt us,” Alvarez said. “He is not only our best blocker, but he is also one of our best receivers. When he and (wide receiver Lee) DeRamus went out, it took away a lot of our offense.”

Bevell, not known for his running, took up the slack for the Badgers, running 21 yards for Wisconsin’s third touchdown.

“I never ran that far with a football in my life,” Bevell said. “And I’d never carried one in for a touchdown, either. It was supposed to be a pass play to the right, but everyone was covered.

“When I looked over to the left, I saw all this room. I figured I’d got as far as I could. I never expected to get all the way to the end zone.”

In 34 carries during the season, Bevell gained 46 yards but lost 70 for a net minus-0.7 average.