Super Bowl LIII will be a showcase event for … Rutgers? Kind of.
The Scarlet Knights haven’t won a national title since 1869, but with four players on the combined 53-man rosters of the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams, no college is better represented in this season’s Super Bowl. Georgia also has four players, leading a contingent of 21 in total from the SEC — the most, unsurprisingly, of any conference.
There are 10 schools with at least three representatives, including five from the Pac-12: California, Oregon, Oregon State, USC and Washington.
Not among the group with at least three? Alabama. The Crimson Tide have just two players — Mark Barron and Dont’a Hightower — but they also happen to be the only two players who could appear Sunday who claimed two national titles in college. Both were on the Tide’s title teams in 2009 and 2011.
Three others won FBS title during their college careers: Florida State’s Lamarcus Joyner (2013), LSU’s Andrew Whitworth (2003) and Tom Brady, who was a backup at Michigan when the Wolverines shared the national title with Nebraska in 1997, predating the BCS era. Rookies Sony Michel (Georgia) and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (Oklahoma) are the only ones who appeared in last season’s College Football Playoff.
Rams outside linebacker Matt Longacre was part of Northwest Missouri State’s Division II national title in 2013 and is one of four Division II products expected to play — all for the Rams. There are 10 players from FCS schools, but none of them won a national title during their college careers.
The American Athletic Conference has the most of the Group of 5 conferences (six), just one behind the Big 12 (seven), while the Mountain West is the only FBS conference without a single representative.
American (6)
Obi Melifonwu, Connecticut, Patriots
Elandon Roberts, Houston, Patriots
Stephen Gostkowski, Memphis, Patriots
Joe Cardona, Navy, Patriots
Justin Lawler, SMU, Rams
Tanzel Smart, Tulane, Rams
ACC (11)
John Johnson III, Boston College, Rams
Dwayne Allen, Clemson, Patriots
Lamarcus Joyner, Florida State, Rams
Shaq Mason, Georgia Tech, Patriots
Trevon Young, Louisville, Rams
Phillip Dorsett, Miami, Patriots
Ufomba Kamalu, Miami, Patriots
Sam Shields, Miami, Rams
Joe Thuney, NC State, Patriots
Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh, Rams
Micah Kiser, Virginia, Rams
Big 12 (7)
Bryce Hager, Baylor, Rams
Aqib Talib, Kansas, Rams
Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, Oklahoma, Rams
Marcus Cannon, TCU, Patriots
Joseph Noteboom, TCU, Rams
Malcom Brown, Texas, Patriots
LaAdrian Waddle, Texas Tech, Patriots
Big Ten (20)
Ted Karras, Illinois, Patriots
Rodger Saffold, Indiana, Rams
Austin Blythe, Iowa, Rams
Adrian Clayborn, Iowa, Patriots
James Ferentz, Iowa, Patriots
J.C. Jackson, Maryland, Patriots
Tom Brady, Michigan, Patriots
Brian Allen, Michigan State, Rams
Brian Hoyer, Michigan State, Patriots
Rex Burkhead, Nebraska, Patriots
Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska, Rams
Nate Ebner, Ohio State, Patriots
Jake McQuaide, Ohio State, Rams
John Simon, Ohio State, Patriots
Duron Harmon, Rutgers, Patriots
Sebastian Joseph-Day, Rutgers, Rams
Devin McCourty, Rutgers, Patriots
Jason McCourty, Rutgers, Patriots
Rob Havenstein, Wisconsin, Rams
James White, Wisconsin, Patriots
Conference USA (4)
Darious Williams, UAB, Rams
Ryan Allen, Louisiana Tech, Patriots
Albert McClellan, Marshall, Patriots
Tyler Higbee, Western Kentucky, Rams
Independent (2)
Kyle Van Noy, Brigham Young. Patriots
John Sullivan, Notre Dame, Rams
MAC (2)
JoJo Natson, Akron, Rams
Julian Edelman, Kent State, Patriots
Pac-12 (18)
Rob Gronkowski, Arizona, Patriots
Lawrence Guy, Arizona State, Patriots
Stephen Anderson, California, Patriots
C.J. Anderson, California, Rams
Jared Goff, California, Rams
Patrick Chung, Oregon, Patriots
Troy Hill, Oregon, Rams
Johnny Mundt, Oregon, Rams
Brandin Cooks, Oregon State, Rams
Sean Mannion, Oregon State, Rams
Johnny Hekker, Oregon State, Rams
Matthew Slater, UCLA, Patriots
Robert Woods, USC, Rams
Nickell Robey-Coleman, USC, Rams
Justin Davis, USC, Rams
Danny Shelton, Washington, Patriots
Cory Littleton, Washington, Rams
Marcus Peters, Washington, Rams
SEC (21)
Mark Barron, Alabama, Rams
Dont’a Hightower, Alabama, Patriots
Deatrich Wise Jr., Arkansas, Patriots
Trey Flowers, Arkansas, Patriots
Jonathan Jones, Auburn, Patriots
Brandon King, Auburn, Patriots
Blake Countess, Auburn, Rams
Duke Dawson Jr., Florida, Patriots
Trent Brown, Florida, Patriots
Dante Fowler Jr., Florida, Rams
Sony Michel, Georgia, Patriots
David Andrews, Georgia, Patriots
Ramik Wilson, Georgia, Rams
Todd Gurley, Georgia, Rams
Michael Brockers, LSU, Rams
Andrew Whitworth, LSU, Rams
Stephon Gilmore, South Carolina, Patriots
Cordarrelle Patterson, Tennessee, Patriots
John Kelly, Tennessee, Rams
Josh Reynolds, Texas A&M, Rams
Adam Butler, Vanderbilt, Patriots
Sun Belt (1)
Gerald Everett, South Alabama, Rams
FCS (10)
James Develin, Brown, Patriots
Samson Ebukam, Eastern Washington, Rams
Jamil Demby, Maine, Rams
Chris Hogan, Monmouth, Patriots
Ramon Humber, North Dakota State, Patriots
Derek Rivers, Youngstown State, Patriots
Keionta Davis, Chattanooga, Patriots
Keion Crossen, Western Carolina, Patriots
John Franklin-Myers, Stephen F. Austin, Rams
KhaDarel Hodge, Prairie View A&M, Rams
Division II (4)
Marqui Christian, Midwestern State, Rams
Greg Zuerlein, Missouri Western State, Rams
Matt Longacre, Northwest Missouri State, Rams
Ethan Westbrooks, West Texas A&M, Rams