You know you’re facing problems when…

… you’re hoping that a Willie Martinez-coached bunch can pull your fat out of the fire.

With concerns abounding with tremendous frequency along the front seven of the defense, the Volunteers will be forced, for better or worse, to rely upon an experienced secondary for leadership and production, particularly early in the season.

This is how you give a team a pass.

From its “The SEC schedule-makers never seem to give the Gators any sort of a break…” through its breezy assertion that best offensive player Jeff Driskel “is actually a lot better than you think…“ to how injuries totally explain a 4-8 season (so why did Boom can most of his offensive staff, then?), Pete Fiutak’s Florida preview is a textbook example of its kind.

Actually, that sells it short.  Here’s what elevates it to masterpiece status.

And it’s not like there were any truly cheap losses, and – don’t scoff – that sort of includes Georgia Southern.

This financial aggression will not stand, man.

Move over Big Ten and SEC.  There’s a new revenue dog taking over.

The college athletics conference financial pecking order has received a jolt – the Pacific-12 Conference new federal tax return shows it had more revenue during the 2012-13 fiscal year than either the Big Ten or Southeastern Conference.

The Pac-12 reported $334 million in total revenue for a fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, the first that reflects the conference’s 12-year, $3 billion TV rights deals with ESPN and Fox; the debut of the wholly conference-owned Pac-12 Networks; and operations of the conference’s nascent marketing and media arm, Pac-12 Enterprises.

That total represents a $158.1 million increase in revenue over what the conference reported for the 2011-12 fiscal year and a more than tripling of the $111.8 million that the Pac-12 reported for 2010-11.

The Big Ten recently reported $318.4 million in total revenue for a fiscal year ending June 30, 2013. The SEC reported $314.5 million reported for a fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, 2013.

I imagine the Big Ten and SEC poobahs will give Delany and Slive a chance to match that.  But if two or three years go by and that hasn’t happened, look for some more fan friendly moves to be made.

“This isn’t something that rolled off the presidents’ desk. The presidents are clueless.”

Bob Kustra certainly knows from where he speaks on that.  How else do you argue with a straight face that nobody forces student-athletes to take the deal schools currently offer on the one hand and then rail against the shit you believe you’re forced to take by choosing to be a participant in Division I athletics?

First class buffoonery from a guy who thinks he can create leverage to make Delany and Slive act against their own interests.  They wouldn’t even take your phone calls, Bob.

Never get married during football season.

Unfortunately for his fiancée, Jeremy Pruitt’s football season is year round.

There won’t be any honeymoon, he said, since “we’ve got to get ready for football season.”

Asked whether that was a tough sell for his bride-to-be, Pruitt smirked.

“She knows what pays the bills,” said Pruitt, who earlier this year signed a three-year contract that pays him $850,000 annually.

That’s dedication.  Or devotion.  Take your pick.