Also had a mismatch in sheer player size. Cameron Meredith (maybe 280 soaking wet) was forced into a DT spot in that championship game due to some injuries as I recall. I remember watching that game thinking the Wisconsin O-line had dudes that were just simply more wide and bulky than anyone on our defensive line. It was then that I realized that we needed to get some guys that were bigger if we were to hold our own in the league.
Thankfully, Bo and his staff had figured that out as well. As he adjusted to the Big Ten, they started recruiting bigger guys who more closely matched what the conference demanded. Vincent Valentine & Maliek Collins redshirted that year and there was debate of whether to burn the redshirt or not that late in the year. Thankfully for those players’ careers, they kept the shirts on but those two could have definitely helped take up some space in that title game. Would have been nice to have the new redshirt rule (up to four games) back then and it would not have been as embarrassing I think.
