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The Debriefing is a column that runs every weekday at 9:00 a.m. here on FanHouse. It goes deep into one issue and then bounces around to a plethora of smaller ones ... and does it all in a way that will make you feel like the prettiest girl at the cotillion. Bookmark this page, and visit daily.

You Were Robbed, (College Football Team)? YOU DON'T SAY!

A lot of teams feel like they got screwed with the BCS selections from Sunday. Georgia felt like they should have been playing for a national title, Virginia Tech feels like they should be playing for a national title, Missouri wanted in a BCS game, Arizona State wanted in a BCS game, everyone's mad that Illinois was invited, blah blah blah.

At least for today, I refuse to engage in any of that. Eventually, I'll probably join in the reindeer games just like everyone else, but right now, I don't see the point.

To complain about individual snubbings would be to imply that I believe the BCS is some sort of meritocracy. Why complain that things aren't fair when they were never intended to be fair?

(Also on Today's List: I'd stop caring about college football if I could ... the proposed "plus-one" system fixes absolutely nothing ... the Ravens put together a nice gameplan for competing with the Patriots, but the Steelers might be the better team to actually execute that gameplan ... and I'm sorry, Rex Ryan, you called a great defensive game for the Ravens but still managed to earn Yesterday's Sad Sack...)

If you're Missouri, for example, why be mad at Kansas? Why be mad at the BCS? It's not like someone decided that Missouri wasn't going to the BCS because Missouri wasn't deserving. No one decided that Kansas is the better team.

You're in the Cotton Bowl, Missouri, because someone decided that Kansas would travel better. You're in the Cotton Bowl because someone decided that your fanbase would be depressed about losing out on a shot at the national title and less willing to travel to Miami for the Orange Bowl. You're in the Cotton Bowl because the Orange Bowl people decided that they want to make as much money as they can.

So why complain that someone screwed you? Honestly, no one made any judgments about the quality of your football team.

It's like complaining that when the sun shines, rapists and murderers get to enjoy the light and warmth, too. Maybe they don't deserve it, but the sun doesn't exist to reward the good and punish the bad. The sun has its own reasons for shining, and they have nothing to do with who deserves the sun and who doesn't.

And if I Could, I Would Just Stop Caring About College Football

The circumstances of a person's birth dictate a lot of the things about what that person's life will become.

If you're born to a single parent in an economically-depressed area, you're going to be forced to confront certain unpleasant aspects of society. If you're born to Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, you will be clinically insane before your 8th birthday. If you're born to Andy and Tammy Reid, you will probably develop a major drug problem.

We are given things in life that we don't choose.

One of the things I was born into is college football. I'm in a college town in a state that lacks any professional teams, and carries a major inferiority complex. Self-esteem here is largely tied to football success.

That's what I kept thinking as I watched the BCS selection show yesterday. I didn't choose college football. And as the matchups were announced, I thought, "I damn sure didn't choose this."

Who in their right mind would choose to invest time, money, and emotion in this nightmare of a system? Who would ever say, "Yes, I'd like to pour four months of resources into something that will have no payoff, no logical conclusion, no equal chance for everyone to prove their worth, and no one in any position of authority will ever acknowledge that this is even a problem"?

I end up with this feeling at the end of every regular season, and every year, I come back for more. I'm helpless. I'm roped in at this point, and I can't get out. I wish like hell I could.

I'm not saying that there's no upside. Was the regular season fun? Sure, it was a blast. Lots of upsets, great games, thrilling highlights, inspirational Lou Holtz pep talks, etc. All fantastic.

Which makes it even more of a crime that it ends with ... well, pretty much nothing. Just another round of games given added significance because the game is named after an agricultural product and/or commercial enterprise.

Do you watch Lost? Great show. It's brilliantly conceived and written ... fascinating twists, emotional moments, new revelations every week, always something more to look forward to. But if someone told me that Lost was going to end with Jack Shephard waking up just as the flight lands in LA, before we got any answers on the truth behind any of this, realizing that this was all a dream and saying, "Woo, I probably shouldn't have smoked all that sherm" ... I'd probably stop watching.

That's how I feel with college football. I just want out.

They'll play these bowl games, and I'll be thoroughly unsatisfied when they're finished. But by the time August '08 rolls around, I'll have forgotten about the injustice that's waiting for me in December, and I'll do it all again. I'm helpless.

Oh, and the "Solution" of a Plus-One Format?

If the proposed "plus-one" system (which seems to be gathering steam) were in place this year ... who would play the winner of LSU/Ohio State? Oklahoma? Virginia Tech? Kansas? USC?

I love this. We acknowledge that it's a problem that the competitors in a national championship are decided arbitrarily ... and the solution we come up with for one arbitrary decision? Two arbitrary decisions!

Really, that's fantastic.

To suggest that a "plus-one" game is needed is to acknowledge that the current system doesn't work, right? So why doesn't it work? Because the it doesn't allow for the possibility that the season might end without two teams clearly establishing themselves as the two most deserving teams.

So why would I believe that after the bowl games, two teams would have clearly emerged as the most deserving? What if an SEC team goes 12-0 in the regular season, and there are no other undefeated teams ... they win their bowl game, and then what? They have to prove it again? What are if there are 3 one-loss teams at the top? What if there are five two-loss teams? Why do odd numbers have to ruin everything?

For the Scrapbook ...

I don't know if I should praise the Ravens for bringing the ruckus to the Patriots, or be upset with them for not finishing it off. All I can tell you is that at the end of the game, I wasn't happy.

Okay, Maybe the Patriots are Human

When the Eagles took the Patriots down to the wire, I didn't really buy into the notion that it showed any real Patriots vulnerability ... now that the Ravens have done the same thing, I might have to reevaluate that stance.

Last night, the Ravens just took the lumber to the Patriots at the line of scrimmage. Willis McGahee had some beautiful holes (not usually something I say about a man) on Jonathan Ogden's side of the line, and carried 30 times for 138 yards. The Ravens won the time of possession battle 33-27.

The Ravens owned the line on the defensive side of the ball, too. Tom Brady was sacked three times and pressured all night ... they mixed up their blitzes and disguised coverages, and a lot of the times they got to Brady weren't even when they were blitzing a lot of guys.

So if you're looking to boil this down to a recipe for success against the Pats ... pound the ball with a power running game, control the clock, and pressure the quarterback with disguised blitzes and, if at all possible, when only rushing 3 or 4 guys.

With that in mind, I present to you the New England Patriots next opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers:

#1 in the league in time of possession per game
#3 in the league in rushing yards per game
#4 in in the league in sacks
#1 in the league in yards allowed per game (by a margin of 40 yards)
#1 in the league in yards allowed per play (by a half a yard)
#1 in the league in points allowed per game (by 2.7 points)

The Steelers are basically a grown-up version of the Ravens. I'm interested to see what the line for this game will be. It's Sunday at 4:15.

The Officials Screwed Everybody

The Ravens, as detailed nicely here by Hashmarks, were awfully bitchy about the officiating in the game last night. A few quotes:

Bart Scott (on the sideline timeout that negated a play where the Ravens stopped the Patriots on a 4th and short):

"I didn't hear a timeout. That was very convenient."

Derrick Mason:

"Allow the players to dictate how the game is going to go, especially the last couple of seconds. It's kind of like basketball. There's three seconds on the clock. Let the guys play ... You are playing against them and then also you have the other guys and it seems you are playing against them, also."

Terrell Suggs:

"Everybody is kind of cheering for them to go undefeated and break all the records. They called them the greatest offense on earth. So who knows? ... They made one more play than us and they got a little help."

Chris McAllister:

"They just took the crown and put it on their heads."

I'll say this: On the timeout being called from the sidelines ... hey, your coach called it. You want the officials to ignore him, just because you're a scrappy underdog? If you have an issue with the timeout, it's probably best to take it up with the coach.

The false start on the Patriots on the next play, which was also a 4th-down stop for the Ravens ... that's just a bad break.

I did not see a hold on Winborne on the next 4th down stop, though.

And if it's any comfort to the Ravens, Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel believes the Patriots got the shaft, and left the field screaming profanities at the officials.

Yesterday's MVP

Brian Billick. He not only convinced his team that they could win, put together an outstanding gameplan and somehow made a contest that I figured for a romp into maybe the most entertaining game of the year ... he also made time to blow kisses at Rodney Harrison.

Harrison, at the end of a play, was standing at the Ravens sideline and decided to start yapping at Brian Billick. It seemed completely unprovoked, but not out of character for Harrison, who often reminds me of a more literate version of Joey Porter. Billick responded by blowing kisses at him. This amused me.

Yesterday's Sad Sack

Rex Ryan. If you don't call that timeout, America is a happier nation today. Jerk.

For Those Who Admire the Female Form ...

These are "promotion girls" from something called the Nokia Air & Style Event. I have no idea what that is, but I admire their willingness to blur the line between sports and stripping. Also, I'm glad they have scarves ... it might be cold in there.
Sorry, No Photos

The Evening's Agenda

Deserving Of Your Full Attention ...

9:30, ESPN. College Basketball. Memphis vs. USC. Derrick Rose vs. OJ Mayo is difficult to pass up. If you at all enjoy the sport of basketball, root for Rose over Mayo.

Other Stuff ...

7:00, ESPN. College Basketball. Kansas State vs. Notre Dame.
7:00, ESPN2. College Basketball. North Carolina @ Penn.
7:30, VS. NHL. Detroit Red Wings @ Montreal Canadiens.
8:00, CBS. Movie. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
8:00, NFL Network. NFL Replay. Giants vs. Bears.
9:00, FOX. House.
10:30, NFL Network. NFL Replay. Buccaneers vs. Saints.