Does the SEC reign supreme with the most players for Bengals-Rams in Super Bowl 56?
Year after year, the majority of college football experts agree that the SEC is the best conference.
The results are hard to argue with how dominant the conference has been racking up national championships during the past decade.
But does that also translate into having the most players on a Super Bowl roster this year? The Florida Gators and LSU Tigers have the most alums — which includes players such as Van Jefferson, Brandon Powell, Evan McPherson, Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Odell Beckham Jr. — on the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams’ active rosters, but does another Power 5 conference feature more prominently top to bottom on the active rosters for Super Bowl 56?
Here’s a look at the various conferences ranked from most to least in terms of active players on the Bengals and Rams rosters shortly following their respective conference championship victories:
SEC
There are 24 players from the football-driven conference, with the aforementioned Gators and Tigers having the most followed by Georgia (four), Alabama (three) and Texas A&M (three) having multiple players, too.
Big Ten
Just a couple shy of the SEC, the Big Ten boasts 22 players on active Super Bowl 56 rosters with Ohio State leading the charge with four alums. Purdue and Maryland are next with three each, while Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa and Penn State each have two alums for the Big Game.
ACC
There’s a bigger gap between second and third than what separates the SEC and Big Ten from each other in this category. Clemson tops ACC schools with four alums in the game. That’s followed by Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, North Carolina State and Florida State also have multiple alums in the game.
Pac 12
Washington leads the west coast Power 5 conference with four alums taking part in Super Bowl 56. The Pac 12 has a total of 12 players in the game, with Colorado, Stanford and Utah contributing two alums apiece.
Big 12
Rounding out Power 5 programs, the Big 12 is just shy of the Pac 12 with 11 players in this year’s Super Bowl. Oklahoma leads the conference with four, while Texas Christian (two) is the only other school in the league with more than one alum in the game.
Conference USA
Florida Atlantic’s two alums in the game brings Conference USA into a tie with the American Athletic Conference for having the most alums among Group of Five schools with five former players on the Bengals and Rams’ active rosters.
American Athletic Conference
Cincinnati leads the AAC with two players, giving the league five alums in the game.
Football Championship Subdivision
It’s not just the FBS schools that have alums making it to the Super Bowl. The former Division I-AA, known as FCS today, has five players from four different schools in the game, with Delaware having the most representation with two alums.
Mountain West
The Mountain West has four programs — Utah State, Wyoming, Nevada and Boise State — each contributing to the league’s four total alums in the game.
Independents
Notre Dame is the only independent program with alums in Super Bowl 56, with two players on active rosters.
Division II
Who says you have to play Division I football to play in the Super Bowl? Two D-II programs, Azusa Pacific and Concordia College-St. Paul, each have a former player on the active rosters for Super Bowl 56.
