Bowl season started with a bang Saturday as six games dotted the schedule.

But for area football fans, the interest in bowl games should take on added importance beginning today and running through Jan. 2 as 14 local products are on the rosters of eight schools playing over the course of the next 11 days.

That busy bowl slate begins in the Idaho Potato Bowl when Akron plays Utah State. The 7-5 Zips and the 6-6 Aggies play at 3:30 p.m. at Boise’s Albertsons Stadium on ESPN. Helping Akron get to just its second bowl in school history and first since the 2005 Motor City Bowl was freshman linebacker Brian Bell, a Lowndes High product. Bell played in all 12 games as a true freshman and made three tackles total, getting one stop apiece against Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan and Buffalo.

One day later, Georgia Southern will be making its first bowl appearance in its first season of eligibility after making the leap from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision a year ago. The Eagles will face Bowling Green in the GoDaddy Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, at 8 p.m. Former Valdosta High star Darrius Sapp, a sophomore, helped anchor the Eagles’ defensive line with 21 tackles, 1.5 for a loss. Zack Copeland, a redshirt freshman from Lowndes, had five tackles in eight games

Lowndes and Valdosta will both be represented again Saturday when Marshall meets Connecticut in the 11 a.m. St. Petersburg Bowl as Tiquan Lang and Jarquez Samuel each play pivotal roles on the Thundering Herd’s defense. Lang, a junior safety, was second on Marshall’s team with 88 tackles while also picking off two passes and breaking up six more. Both of those interceptions came against Purdue on Sept. 6 as the Lowndes product returned both for touchdowns to earn National Defensive Player of the Week honors. Samuel, a senior from VHS, made 39 tackles, six for a loss with a sack as a defensive lineman.

On Dec. 29, North Carolina and former Lanier County star Junior Gnonkonde begin a five-day push that includes local products playing. Gnonkonde, a junior defensive end, was one of the Tar Heels’ top pass rushers with 3.5 sacks while also recording seven tackles for a loss and 34 tackles total. The 6-foot-4, 260-pounder also recovered two fumbles and had eight quarterback hurries. The Tar Heels square off against Baylor in the 5:30 p.m. Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

Fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Louisville plays Texas A&M in the Dec. 30 Music City Bowl at 7 p.m. Leading the Cardinals’ defense will be former Lowndes star Josh Harvey-Clemons. Harvey-Clemons, a junior who transferred to

Louisville from Georgia, made 80 tackles in his first season with the Cardinals, also intercepting two passes and breaking up three more.

Another former Lowndes defensive back will conclude his collegiate career a day later when Tyler Hunter and Florida State play Houston in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta at noon Dec. 31. Hunter made 24 tackles while intercepting one pass and recovering one fumble for the Seminoles this season.

On Jan. 1, the reigning national champion Ohio State Buckeyes conclude their season against Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Former VHS star Josh Norwood is redshirting this season for Ohio State.

The local bowl season wraps up Jan. 2 when Georgia meets Penn State in the Taxslayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. Five area standouts are on the Bulldog roster, led by seniors and former VHS standouts Malcolm Mitchell and Jay Rome. Mitchell was Georgia’s top threat in the passing game with 53 receptions for 751 yards and four touchdowns, while Rome made eight catches for 88 yards from his tight end spot. Lowndes’ Dyshon Sims and Valwood’s Aulden Bynum have each earned playing time as well, Sims on the offensive line and Bynum both on the line and as a blocking tight end. Sims made two starts at guard, against Kentucky and Georgia Tech. Malkom Parrish, a Brooks County product, recorded 36 tackles, including five for a loss and one sack. The sophomore defensive back also had two inteceptions, two pass breakups, one fumble recovery and blocked a kick.

Jamie Wachter is the sports editor of the Valdosta Daily Times and can be followed on Twitter @jlwachter.