It’s the most wonderful time … of the year …

Yes, I remember that ESPN bowl promo that the network used a billion years in a row. Does it still do that? I’m a big fast forward/flip the channel through commercials guy now.

If ESPN doesn’t anymore, let me be the FIRST to say how wonderful it is that bowl season is upon us. For the next 2.5 weeks, we’ll have nothing but non-stop bowl action. No more complaining about there being nothing on TV. A blessed holiday we shall have.

Here’s something interesting about each of the 39 bowl games:

New Orleans Bowl — Troy vs. North Texas

Six years ago, this would’ve just been another game in the Sun Belt conference, but North Texas left for Conference USA back in 2012.

Cure Bowl — Western Kentucky vs. Georgia State

Both teams are led by first-year coaches, though SEC fans remember that Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott went 1-5 when he took over after Steve Spurrier’s mid-season retirement at South Carolina in 2015.

Las Vegas Bowl — Boise State vs. Oregon

Nick Saban disciple and new Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher left Florida State, where Willie Taggart took over after he left Oregon, where another Saban disciple Mario Cristobal was promoted and will make his debut as a Power 5 head coach in the Las Vegas Bowl.

New Mexico Bowl — Marshall vs. Colorado State

Consider this the battle of the 7-5 green teams who both won just one game in the final month of the season.

Camellia Bowl — Middle Tennessee vs. Arkansas State

Win or lose, Middle Tennessee already has clinched its sixth straight year in which it’ll have between 6-8 wins, while Arkansas State will have posted its seventh consecutive season of winning 7-10 games, which four head coaches (including Hugh Freeze and Gus Malzahn) took part in.

Boca Raton Bowl — Akron vs. Florida Atlantic

Florida Atlantic is easily the biggest favorite of any bowl team at -22.5, which means we should expect some #RatPoison from Lane Kiffin.

Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Frisco Bowl — Louisiana Tech vs. SMU

For Louisiana Tech, it’s actually a shorter drive to get to Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, than it would be to get to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, but it’s not shorter than the 33 minutes it’ll take SMU to drive to Frisco.

Gasparilla Bowl — Temple vs. Florida International

This will mark Butch Davis’s first bowl game since 2010 when he knocked off a 6-6 Tennessee squad in the 2010 Music City Bowl, which was the only postseason game that Derek Dooley coached for the Vols.

Bahamas Bowl — UAB vs. Ohio

UAB is bowl-eligible for the first time since 2014, but the Blazers didn’t get to play in a bowl game that year — that would’ve been their first bowl since 2004 — because after they won their regular season finale, university president Ray Watts announced that they wouldn’t field a team anymore.

Idaho Potato Bowl — Central Michigan vs. Wyoming

Quarterback play shouldn’t be lacking with Josh Allen (if his shoulder heals), a possible first-round pick in the 2018 draft, and Shane Morris, who threw for 2,908 yards and 26 touchdowns for the Chippewas after transferring from Michigan.

Birmingham Bowl — Texas Tech vs. USF

If you like points, flip on the game with the over/under at 67.5, which is the second-highest total of any bowl game.

Armed Forces Bowl — San Diego State vs. Army

The nation’s leading rusher (Rashaad Penny) and the nation’s No. 1 rushing offense (Army) will be on the same field, which means BE QUIET WITH YOUR HIP HOP MUSIC AND FORWARD PASSES.

Dollar General Bowl — Appalachian State vs. Toledo

New year, new bowl, and somehow, these teams will get a rematch of last year’s Camellia Bowl when Appalachian State earned a 31-28 win against a Kareem Hunt-led Toledo squad.

Hawaii Bowl — Fresno State vs. Houston

Both programs are in their first seasons with their respective head coaches, but honestly, both of them already won because they got a free vacation to Hawaii.

Heart of Dallas Bowl — Utah vs. West Virginia

If Will Grier isn’t able to play because of his finger injury, he’ll enter 2018 as a Heisman Trophy candidate despite being a fifth-year senior having never played in a bowl game.

Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Quick Lane Bowl — Duke vs. Northern Illinois

This will mark Northern Illinois’ seventh straight weekday game because of #MACtion — or, as the Chicago Tribune recently put it: “MAC football: Where every day is Saturday. Except Saturday.”

Cactus Bowl — Kansas State vs. UCLA

UCLA’s interim coach is 41-year-old Jedd Fisch, who was 12 when Bill Snyder took over at Kansas State in 1988.

Independence Bowl — Southern Mississippi vs. Florida State

This is the third time in six years Florida State will face a Group of 5 team in a bowl game, though this is the first that won’t be considered a New Year’s 6 game.

Pinstripe Bowl — Iowa vs. Boston College

Both Iowa and Boston College beat a team that was ranked in the top three at some point in 2017 by at least 31 points … and proceeded to go 6-5 outside of those games.

Foster Farms Bowl — Arizona vs. Purdue

Both Rich Rodriguez (Alabama) and Jeff Brohm (Tennessee) turned down big-time jobs at SEC programs at least once in their careers.

Texas Bowl — Texas vs. Missouri

This will mark Tom Herman’s first non-New Year’s 6 bowl — as either a head coach or an assistant — since he was the offensive coordinator for the 2011 Iowa State team that lost to Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Military Bowl — Virginia vs. Navy

Virginia and Navy are playing in a postseason game despite finishing the season 1-5 and 1-6, respectively.

Camping World Bowl — Virginia Tech vs. Oklahoma State

A top-3 scoring offense (Oklahoma State) will battle against a top-5 scoring defense (Virginia Tech), which means it’s time for me to spit out the cliché “something has to give” line.

Alamo Bowl — TCU vs. Stanford

Both teams lost their respective conference championships and subsequently missed out on New Year’s 6 bowls, which makes that 2.5-point spread all but useless for this one.

Holiday Bowl — Washington State vs. Michigan State

Washington State was in the Holiday Bowl against a B1G team (Minnesota) last year, and was held to its lowest scoring output all season in a 17-12 loss that didn’t exactly please Mike Leach.

Belk Bowl — Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M

Kevin Sumlin could’ve earned his sixth straight season of 8-plus wins had he not been fired, while Wake Forest is looking to capture its first 8-win season since 2008.

Sun Bowl — NC State vs. Arizona State

Dave Doeren turned down Tennessee, which means he can put all of his focus on matching the program’s best single-season win total since Russell Wilson led the Wolfpack to a 9-4 mark in 2010.

Music City Bowl — Northwestern vs. Kentucky

While Kentucky is searching for its first 8-win season in a decade, Northwestern enters the postseason riding a seven-game winning streak, which is longer than any such streak posted by Auburn, Clemson, Ohio State, Stanford, USC or Washington this year.

Arizona Bowl — New Mexico State vs. Utah State

Utah State quarterback Tyler Rogers will be back in his home state for the final game of his college career, during which he has racked up a whopping 10,167 passing yards.

Cotton Bowl — USC vs. Ohio State

In a battle of teams that won Power 5 conference titles and missed the Playoff, Ohio State will face its first top-20 passing offense since Baker Mayfield planted his flag after torching the Buckeyes in Columbus.

TaxSlayer Bowl — Mississippi State vs. Louisville

Besides being without Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State will play in its first bowl game without Dan Mullen since 2007 when Sylvester Croom led the Bulldogs to a 10-3 win against UCF in the Liberty Bowl.

Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Liberty Bowl — Iowa State vs. Memphis

Memphis will play on its home field, where it averaged 50.1 points per game and went 7-0 with a win against UCLA.

Fiesta Bowl — Penn State vs. Washington

Saquon Barkley is almost a lock to be a top-5 pick in the 2018 NFL draft, but in what many expect to be his final collegiate game, he and the Joe Moorhead-less Penn State offense will face the No. 1 run defense in America.

Orange Bowl — Wisconsin vs. Miami

Wisconsin is nearly a touchdown favorite despite the fact that it’ll play at Hard Rock Stadium, where Miami went 7-0 and was +67 in its final three games — against bowl-bound Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Virginia.

Outback Bowl — Michigan vs. South Carolina

If you’re a fan of defensive struggles, set your DVRs for New Year’s Day at noon ET on ESPN2 to watch Michigan and South Carolina battle in the bowl game with the lowest over/under (43).

Peach Bowl — UCF vs. Auburn

Auburn was 3-3 away from Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2017 while UCF was a perfect 12-0 on planet Earth.

Citrus Bowl — LSU vs. Notre Dame

The programs will meet in the postseason for the third time in the last 11 years, with each team having won once, but this will be the first time that LSU isn’t favored by exactly 8.5 points (the line is LSU -3).

Rose Bowl — Georgia vs. Oklahoma

Before Baker Mayfield transferred to Oklahoma, he was named Texas Tech’s starting quarterback as a true freshman walk-on before the start of the 2013 season, which was before Jake Fromm played a down of high school football.

Sugar Bowl — Clemson vs. Alabama

One point was the combined difference in their first two meetings — each team averaged 37.8 points — and only one point separates Alabama’s top-ranked scoring defense (11.5 PPG) from Clemson’s No. 2 scoring defense (12.8 PPG).