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This is an opinion column.

Auburn is suddenly a lot closer to Alabama than anyone could have imagined a week ago.

And just like that, the Iron Bowl is here.

Let’s hope SEC officials understand the general rules of football every now and then.

If there is a path for Alabama to the College Football Playoff after its 24-3 loss to Oklahoma, new coach Kalen DeBoer is a golden goose.

Or is it smoked turkey? Because let’s face it, the season in Alabama is cooked before Thanksgiving.

Pessimistic Alabama fans are already calling DeBoer a newer version of Shula. He can still be a good coach at Alabama, but not this season. Clearly, DeBoer wasn’t ready for the SEC. For all his stellar achievements before joining big boy football over there, that’s the harsh truth. Alabama wasn’t prepared for Vanderbilt and Alabama wasn’t prepared for Oklahoma and that’s the season.

And in his first year at Alabama, DeBoer is a certified failure.

Perhaps it would have been a different story for DeBoer with his former offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb. But DeBoer sold Alabama a bag of goods, assuring Greg Byrne that Grubb would also move from Seattle to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, or perhaps Byrne forgot to ask this when selecting Nick Saban’s successor. Regardless, Alabama’s offense is about as consistent as a dirt road in Winston County.

Sometimes it’s a lot of fun, but sometimes you end up in a ditch.

Would things have gone smoother with Grubb as offensive coordinator? That’s a question DeBoer will have to ask himself with all his free time in December. Maybe he can visit Grubb and the Seattle Seahawks for advice.

After watching Alabama roll around in that sandbox in front of an Oklahoma football field, nothing should be out of the question. And let me spell that sentence out for clarity. Someone on DeBoer’s staff should probably be disengaged from his commitment to Alabama football after the Crimson Tide’s worst offensive effort since 2004.

DeBoer appeared to have corrected Alabama’s season after losses to Vanderbilt and Tennessee. But no. It turned out that LSU just wasn’t that good at football.

Despite everything, I always thought Alabama still had a chance to win the national championship. After all, this team was one play away from playing for the goods last season. I hate it for him, but quarterback Jalen Milroe will be kicking himself for this failed season.

But that doesn’t mean that Milroe is very good at kicking things.

I’m still trying to figure out what he was thinking after his second interception of the game.

First off, it was a terrible play call, so that’s on offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan. However, the lack of execution was all Milroe, and it doesn’t matter that Milroe later tried to shift the blame to receiver Kobe Prentice.

Maybe Prentice didn’t do a good enough job screening Oklahoma linebacker Kip Lewis, but Milroe should have seen Lewis come in for the interception. Lewis jumped the route and headed for the end zone.

With the ball in Lewis’s hands, it came down to one player on the Alabama team making a game-saving tackle. But Milroe and his hulking body were not up to the challenge. He had the angle, but for whatever reason – and I think he thought he was suddenly playing football – Milroe Lewis tried to slide as the defender was racing for wages.

I think Milroe is making too much money to handle anymore.

And if it was a business decision to avoid the hit, then Milroe should probably consider playing in the bowl game for Alabama because the last thing he wants is for NFL executives to remember that he’s entering the draft, which ridiculous attempt at karate.

Football in Alabama, where champions… have to wipe their leg?

And in the end, it doesn’t matter if the referee threw a terrible flag that negated a touchdown catch for Alabama receiver Ryan Williams. Still, someone has to say it. If Alabama doesn’t deserve to play in the playoffs, the referee who made the decision should get a pink slip from the SEC.

With Alabama coming off three losses, this season’s Iron Bowl will be for state bragging rights and nothing more. First it was Vanderbilt beating Alabama and Auburn in the same season for the first time since 1955, and now it’s Oklahoma doing the trick in its first season as a member of the SEC.

Auburn ultimately decided to make an appearance this season the same week Alabama checked out. The Tigers’ impressive 43-41 win in four overtimes against Texas A&M now sets the stage for a major shift in the SEC entering rivalry week.

Ole ma’am? Out of the play-offs.

Alabama? Better luck with sliding next time.

Texas A&M? No match for the Thorne-stache.

Auburn and Hugh Freeze have all the momentum in the Iron Bowl and the recruits will be watching.

BE HEARD

Do you have a question for Joep? Do you want to get something off your mind? Send Joe an email about what’s on your mind. Make your voice heard. Ask him anything.

Joseph Goodman is the main sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”