When the Patriots kick off against the defending champion Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX on Feb. 1, no university will have more players active in the game than Rutgers: not Ohio State or Oregon, not Florida State or Alabama.

And former Scarlet Knights coach Greg Schiano, the man who groomed the Patriots’ Rutgers Four — tight end Tim Wright and defensive backs Duron Harmon, Devin McCourty and Logan Ryan — will view the Super Bowl from the same place where he saw the Patriots’ 45-7 AFC Championship rout of Indianapolis: at home in Tampa with his family, watching his extended family make him proud.

“I’ve been watching those guys,” Schiano told The Post. “I watch all my old players at Rutgers that are in the league. I was happy for them that they’re getting a chance to go to the Super Bowl. I like watching it with my guys. My sons and I will be tuned in.

“My wife and four kids, we all root for the Rutgers guys, so that’ll be fun to watch. We hope all our guys do well. … It’s exciting to see guys come to school as 17-year-olds, and now you’re watching them in the Super Bowl. That’s neat stuff.’’

And historic. With four former Scarlet Knights on the team, some have dubbed the Patriots “Rutgers North.” Wisconsin, Texas A&M and Oregon are the only other schools with four players on either roster. And while Wisconsin is the only school with more players on the combined rosters, two of their six are inactive on injured reserve.

So why the pipeline from Piscataway to the Patriots?

“I wouldn’t say it’s a pipeline — I just think it’s a great school, it gets you prepared for the NFL, and a lot of the characteristics of what we learned at Rutgers and how to be men and how important we take football there I think translates well here,’’ Ryan said Friday.

“They’ve played well for us, they really have,’’ New England coach Bill Belichick said after his Patriots’ divisional-round win over Baltimore. “Of course, they were in a great program there with coach Schiano, and they were well-coached at Rutgers. They’ve worked really hard here. Nobody’s worked hard than Duron and Logan have in the last two years they’ve been here.

“Literally when the season was over last year, these guys were in a couple days after the season starting on this year. … It was still January. Devin’s obviously one of our hardest workers and has great leadership and character. I’m proud of all those guys, and I’m sure coach Schiano and the Rutgers program is, too. They stepped up today, made some big plays for us.’’

Big plays such as Harmon, a third-round pick, intercepting Baltimore’s Joe Flacco to clinch the divisional win. Or such as converted wideout Wright repaying Belichick’s faith in giving up All-Pro offensive lineman Logan Mankins for him by catching six touchdown passes this season. Or such as McCourty not only making the switch from corner to safety two years ago, but joining Hall of Famers Ronnie Lott and Rod Woodson as the only men to be named All-Pro at both positions.

“Having four people on one [college] in the Super Bowl, that’s pretty spectacular. Four is an awful lot,’’ said NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt, former Cowboys VP of Player Personnel. Brandt did point out the fact Belichick’s son, Steve, long-snapped at Rutgers likely played a small role in bringing the four to New England, work ethic and attention to detail played a far greater one.

“[Belichick] had a great deal of respect for [Schiano],” Brandt said, “and the fact they did such a great job of developing players. [Ryan] is a lot better than anybody knew.

“They’ve had luck with that school. … [Schiano], going back to Penn State, was as thorough as anybody you’d see. He was a lot like Belichick. He’d leave no stone unturned. He had players [watch tape] and get it done early in the morning. He didn’t let scouts come until 9 a.m. The scouts didn’t like it, but one reason they [did] was to encourage players to spend time early in the morning with film study.’’

Schiano won’t be caught up in Deflategate or worried about legacies. He’ll be like a proud parent watching his four Patriots who worked themselves to within a single win of a Super Bowl ring.

“All four guys have incredible work ethic. That’s why they’re good players,’’ Schiano said. “They’re all different levels of physical skill. The thing that attracted the Patriots to them, the thing that makes them good players in the Patriots’ system, is they’re willing to put the time in, pay attention to detail, and the team comes first. When you have those kinds of guys, that’s why you have a successful team.

“Those four guys fit right into the culture that coach Belichick and his staff has been able to develop. … Probably the least recruited of them was Devin, yet you could argue that Devin’s done the most. All four of those guys worked exceptionally hard to hone their craft. I’m just happy they’re getting to play at this level and do what they love for a living.’’

–Additional reporting by Steve Serby