It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, I’m not talking about Christmas. Christmas is great and all, but if you’re a college football junkie like me, the most wonderful time of the year is college bowl season.

What used to be called Bowl Week and lasted from Christmas Day to New Year’s Day has now turned into a complete bowl season lasting nearly a month, thanks to the explosion of bowls in the last 10 years.

When I was a kid, there were less than 20 bowl games, and teams really had to have a good season in order to make one. It was not uncommon for major conference teams to have a 7-4 or even 8-3 record and be left out of a bowl game. And teams from mid-major conferences had to have at least nine or 10 wins in order to be considered.

Nowadays, the number of bowl games has more than doubled, with 80 teams having a spot in one of the 40 bowl games (41 if you count the national championship game). All that is needed is a 6-6 record to secure a spot in a bowl, and occasionally, even 5-7 teams will make it if there aren’t enough teams with 6-6 or better records to fill all the bowl spots.

However, even though the bowl season may have been watered down with the number of bowls with mediocre teams playing in them, it is still college football being played during the holiday season. What’s not to like?

This year, there are a couple of additional reasons to be interested in bowl season. Two of the games will feature local athletes.

On Saturday, West Limestone graduate Reed Blankenship will be playing free safety for Middle Tennessee State in the Camellia Bowl against Arkansas State. Blankenship’s friends and family won’t have to travel very far to support him, as the Camellia Bowl is played in Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl stadium.

The Blue Raiders finished the season with a 6-6 record, winning three of their last four games to become bowl eligible and extend their season by one game.

Two more locals will be facing a high-profile opponent in their bowl games, as Athens High grads Quez Watkins and Paxton Schrimsher will be playing for Southern Miss in the Independence Bowl on Wednesday, Dec. 27, against Florida State.

Watkins, a redshirt freshman wide receiver, and Schrimsher, a sophomore linebacker, have both gotten extensive playing time this year, and they will now get a chance to give the Golden Eagles (8-4) a win over a historical college football power. Even though Florida State struggled to a 6-6 record this season, a win over a traditional power would be one for Southern Miss players and fans to hang their hat on.

College bowl season was always a big part of my holiday festivities, and hopefully, with a little local flavor this year, it will be a part of yours as well.

Jeff Edwards can be reached at jeff@athensnews-courier.com.