San Francisco 49ers’ defensive linemen DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead did not win a college football championship when the two were teammates on the Oregon Ducks. The two will get a chance to win an NFL title when the 49ers face Kansas City in Super Bowl 54 on Sunday.

Buckner and Armstead are part of a fierce defensive line that serves as the catalyst for the 49ers’ defense, which ranked second in total defense, eighth in scoring, first in passing and sixth in sacks during the 2019 regular season.

Buckner was named to the All-Pro second team after leading the team’s defensive linemen with 62 total tackles, along with 7.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss and a team-leading four fumble recoveries this year. Armstead posted career-highs with a team-leading 10 sacks and tackles (54), along with 13.5 tackles for loss (second on the 49ers) during a breakout season.

The 49ers used their first-round picks in 2015 and 2016 to select Armstead (No. 17 overall) and Buckner (No. 7), respectively, in the NFL draft.

“It’s been awesome,” Buckner told reporters last Friday. “Coming in as a rookie already having one of my good friends and college roommates on the team already, who’s been in a similar position as me, getting drafted in the first round and being the team’s first pick the year before, and really helping me transition into the locker room and having a guy to really bounce ideas off of throughout the year.”

Armstead has benefited from playing alongside his college teammate and the two have fed off each other during the season.

“It’s great to play next to him (Buckner). Teams often give him a lot of attention, which makes my job easier,” Armstead told nbcsports/bayarea.com. “Sometimes the focus comes my way and he has a favorable matchup. He and I working together puts pressure on the offense.”

The two were teammates from 2012 through 2014 at Oregon, part of a dominant stretch for the Ducks. The Ducks posted a record of 36-5 during those years and lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the national championship game in 2015.

The Super Bowl seemed a long way away when Buckner and Armstead became teammates in San Francisco in 2016.

The 49ers posted four consecutive losing seasons and their overall record was 17-47 (.265) from 2015 through 2018. Their record was 4-12 in 2018 and while the 49ers were expected to improve in 2019, few expected them to reach Super Bowl 54.

Along with Buckner and Armstead, the 49ers invested heavily in their defensive line through the draft. They have selected defensive linemen (Buckner, Armstead, Solomon Thomas, Nick Bosa) in the first round in four of the past five NFL drafts. They added a fifth former first-round pick (free agent Dee Ford) in 2019.

The 49ers’ investment has paid off in a big way. Buckner and Armstead hope they can win the championship that eluded them in college.

“It’s been fun, especially this year. We had a lot of good times at Oregon and then we went through a rough patch here the past couple of years,” Buckner told reporters. “To finally have this year, everything happening the right way and getting here to the Big Dance, it has been one hell of a ride.”