The 2009-2010 College Football Bowl Season has already begun with several of the small bowls kicking off in late December. The major bowls and BCS Games are just a few days away and you know Football Fanatics is getting ready for them. Like in years past, we will have championship apparel for most of the bowl game winners. In today’s post let’s take a look at some of the college football bowl matchups.

I’m looking forward to the following games:

Gator Bowl
Florida State Seminoles vs. West Virginia Mountaineers
This is a big game because it is played in Jacksonville (where we are headquartered) and it is also Bobby Bowden’s final game as the head coach at Florida State. In addition to that, he’ll be coaching it against WVU – the team he coached prior to FSU back in the 1970s.

Sugar Bowl
Florida Gators vs. Cincinnati Bearcats
Who won’t be watching Tim Tebow’s final college game? This game also has a lot of hype around it because of Urban Meyer’s leave of absence that starts following the game’s conclusion. Cincinnati is undefeated and wants to prove that they can beat the big boys.

Orange Bowl
Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech ran through the ACC very easily this year. They’ll face one tough opponent in the Iowa Hawkeyes who were very close to winning the Big Ten. I’m intrigued by this game because I love watching GA Tech run the ball with their triple wishbone offense.

Rose Bowl
Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Oregon Ducks
I think this is the first time the Oregon Ducks will be playing in the Rose Bowl. Don’t quote me on that though – I didn’t do the research. The Buckeyes on the other hand seem to be in the Rose Bowl every year. They know what to expect. This is going to be a very good game filled with talented athletes.

Fiesta Bowl
Boise State Broncos vs. TCU Horned Frogs
The Fiesta Bowl is a matchup between two non-BCS teams. Will people watch it? I think so – they’ll want to see how these two smaller schools perform on the big stage. The best thing going for this game is that it’s a battle between two undefeated teams. Only one will complete the perfect season.

National Championship
Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Texas Longhorns
I’ll get into this matchup in another day or two. I want to dedicate an entire post to the game.

The 2009 NFL regular season is one week away from completion. We’ve had some great surprises in 2009 and some disappointing failures. One thing is for sure though – it happens like clockwork every year – we will see turnover in the NFL coaching ranks. Usually, the NFL sees around 3-5 new coaches every year. In today’s post we’ll take a look at some of the coaches in the hot seat this winter.

Some of these coaches are a lock to get fired, others might scrape by for another year.

Eric Mangini
Eric Mangini of the Cleveland Browns is in his first season of coaching, but that doesn’t protect him from getting canned. The Browns brought in Mike Holmgren to run the football operations and he’s likely going to bring in his own guys to coach the team. The Browns are 4-11 and had a disastrous locker room at the start of the season.

Jim Zorn
The Washington Redskins spend money and make money like no other team – so why can’t they win? Jim Zorn has coached this team to a 4-11 record and hasn’t had any post season success during his time in Washington. That just won’t cut it. There are rumors already that the Redskins are in talks with Mike Shanahan to coach in 2010.

Dick Jauron
I’m surprised Dick Jauron has made it this far in the 2009 season. The Bills are 5-10 and haven’t won a playoff game in years. Jauron’s time as a head coach is up in Buffalo.

Jack Del Rio
The Jacksonville Jaguars got off to a good start and were 7-5 at one point this season. Some people were even talking coach of the year for JDR. Since then, he’s dropped 3 in a row and blown the Jaguars shot at the playoffs. Another late season meltdown could cost Jack his job in Jacksonville.

Other coaches that are on the hot seat include:
John Fox, Carolina Panthers
Gary Kubiak, Houston Texans
Wade Phillips, Dallas Cowboys
Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears

Over the weekend, Gator fans were hit with some shocking news. On Saturday evening, Urban Meyer announced that he would resign as head coach of the Florida Gators football team, citing medical issues. The entire nation was shocked. What was wrong with Urban Meyer? What would happen to the Florida football program? Who would coach in 2010? There were so many initial questions. However, on Sunday Gator fans were relieved to find out that Meyer changed his mind and instead of resigned opted to take a leave of absence.

Urban Meyer is at the top of his game. He is 56-10 during his five years at the University of Florida is has the highest winning percentage (84.1%) among all active coaches with a minimum of five years. Gator fans don’t want to know what life without Urban Meyer will be like. Lucky for them, Meyer is expected to return as head football coach for the start of the 2010 season if his health improves. In the meantime, offensive coordinator Steve Addazio will act as the interim head coach following the Sugar Bowl.

Coaching a college football team is serious business – it consumes the coach’s life. To be successful and compete for National Championships, coaches have to dedicate nearly every waking moment to the football program. Coaching in college is different from the NFL. When the season is over, coaches go on long recruiting trips instead of relaxing at home. It’s ultra competitive trying to land the best high school players.

I hope the time off does Meyer some good. I hope he gets healthy and takes some much deserved R&R.

Fan voting for the 2010 Pro Bowl has officially ended and the NFL released the Top 10  vote-getters. Peyton Manning led the way with 1,545,642 votes. He was followed by Drew Brees, Brett Favre and others. The fan vote only makes up a portion of determining the 43-man rosters. The AFC and NFC teams will be announced on December 29 on the NFL Network. In today’s post, I’ll go over my top picks for each position.

I’m going to stick with position players, because that’s what I know best. These picks are based solely on my own opinion. I don’t have any insider info.

AFC
QB: Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Tom Brady
RB: Chris Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Thomas Jones
WR: Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Randy Moss, Brandon Marshall, Vincent Jackson
TE: Dallas Clark, Antonio Gates

NFC
QB: Drew Brees, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers
RB: Steven Jackson, Adrian Peterson, Ryan Grant
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, Sidney Rice, Miles Austin, DeSean Jackson, Steve Smith (NYG)
TE: Vernon Davis, Tony Gonzalez

When I was looking through the stats of the wide receivers in the AFC and NFC, I was completely shocked at how much better the AFC is. It was very hard picking the Top 5 AFC wide receivers, but with the NFC I was struggling to find someone worthy enough to add. I also think the AFC has the edge at the QB position with Manning and Brady.

Who would you like to see make the Pro Bowl? Post a comment and let me know.

The BCS National Championship game is still several weeks away – and I’ll be sure to give you a full breakdown of the Texas Longhorns vs. Alabama Crimson Tide matchup as we get closer to January 7. But today I wanted to talk to you (and show you) the huge selection of BCS National Championship merchandise we have for sale. These items are great to have when you sit down to watch the game.

In total, we have 60 Texas vs. Alabama items for sale right now. We have a great selection of T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, tanks, bumper stickers, jerseys and more. No matter what you’re looking for, you’ll find it at Football Fanatics. We want you to be totally decked out for the game – whether you’re watching at home or traveling to Pasadena to watch live.

Here’s a small sample of what you’ll find online at Football Fanatics.

Week 15 of the 2009 NFL Season is in the books (except for tonight’s New York Giants vs. Washington Redskins MNF game). We saw some amazing plays, shocking comebacks and historic days from players and teams across the league. The playoff picture isn’t much clearer – there are still six teams in the AFC at 7-7 and fighting for a Wildcard spot. There aren’t as many teams in the NFC still in contention, but it will still likely come down to Week 17.

Yesterday we saw so many great performances – two of them stick out in my mind.

1. Jerome Harrison of the Cleveland Browns rushed 34 times for 286 yards and 3 touchdowns – breaking Jim Brown’s single game rushing record for Cleveland. The Browns haven’t had a lot of bright spots to hang their hat on this season, but putting up 41 points yesterday and seeing Harrison run like a maniac may give them hope for the future.

2. Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers threw for an amazing 503 yards and 3 touchdowns yesterday against the Green Bay Packers. Mike Wallace was on the receiving end of two of those touchdowns. Big Ben led the Steelers from behind to beat the Packers in the 4th quarter and keep their playoff hopes alive.

Another interesting side note from the Steelers vs. Packers game – it was the first time in NFL history that a game has ended with a final score of 37-36. That’s crazy isn’t it?

How did your team do this weekend? What plays stick out in your mind from Week 15? Post a comment and let us know.

Did you know the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Championship game is tonight in Chattanooga, TN ? This year we have the 13-1 Villanova Wildcats fighting for their first ever championship against the 14-0 Montana Grizzlies. The Grizzlies are definitely the favorites tonight. They’ve won 12 straight Big Sky Conference titles and are making their fifth appearance in the national championship game this decade.

I’ll be honest – I’m looking at Montana’s roster and stats for the first time ever right now… all I can say is wow! They are impressive. The Grizzlies quarterback Selle has thrown for almost 2,700 yards, 25 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions. Their running back Reynolds has rushed 306 times for 1439 yards and 22 touchdowns (those are Mark Ingram type numbers). And Montana also has a receiver with 72 receptions, 1317 yards and 12 touchdowns. They seem like an offensive juggernaut. I would not want to face them in a championship game.

Immediately following the game tonight, Football Fanatics will have championship gear for the winning team: Montana Grizzlies or Villanova Wildcats. We will have champs T-shirts, hats, sweatshirts and more. The game airs on ESPN 2 tonight at 8:00 ET.

I’m predicting a Montana Grizzlies blowout, 42-21. What do you think?

EDIT: Villanova won! Shop official Villanova FCS Champs gear at Football Fanatics.