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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 just hope that SEC officials figure out the general rules of football between now and then.

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

Or is it smoked turkey? Because, let’s face it, Alabama’s season 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. It’s clear that DeBoer wasn’t ready for the SEC. Despite all of his glowing records before joining big boy football down yonder way, that’s the hard truth of it. Alabama wasn’t prepared for Vanderbilt and Alabama wasn’t prepared for Oklahoma and that’s the season.

And in Year One at Alabama, DeBoer is a certified failure.

Maybe it would have been a different story in for DeBoer with his former offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb. But DeBoer either sold Alabama a bag of goods, assuring Greg Byrne that Grubb would be moving from Seattle to Tuscaloosa, Ala., too., or maybe Byrne forgot to ask when selecting the successor to Nick Saban. Either way, Alabama’s offense is about as consistent as a dirt road in Winston County.

It’s a lot of fun sometimes, but occasionally you end up in a ditch.

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

After witnessing Alabama roll around in that sandbox for a football field up in Oklahoma, nothing should be out of the question. And let me spell out that sentence just to be clear. Someone on DeBoer’s staff probably needs to be decoupled from his commitment to Alabama football after the worst offensive effort by the Crimson Tide since 2004.

DeBoer seemed to have corrected Alabama’s season after losses to Vanderbilt and Tennessee. But no. LSU, it turns out, was just not very good at football.

Despite everything, I always thought that 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’s not to say that Milroe is very good at kicking things, of course.

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

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

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

With the ball in Lewis’ hands, it came down to one player on Alabama’s team needing to make a game-saving tackle. But Milroe and his hulking frame wasn’t up to the challenge. He had the angle, but, for whatever reason — and I guess he thought he was suddenly playing soccer — Milroe tried to slide tackle Lewis as the defender was racing for paydirt.

Guess Milroe makes too much money to tackle 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 NFL executives to remember about him going into the draft is that preposterous attempt at karate.

Alabama football, where champions are made to … sweep the leg?

And, in the end, it doesn’t matter if the ref threw a horrible flag that canceled out a touchdown catch for Alabama receiver Ryan Williams. Someone needs to say it, though. If Alabama doesn’t deserve to be in the playoff, then the official who made that call needs to be handed a pink slip by the SEC.

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

Auburn finally decided to show up this season on the same week that Alabama checked out. The Tigers’ impressive 43-41 four overtime victory against Texas A&M now sets the stage for a major shift in the SEC going into rivalry week.

Ole Miss? Out of the playoffs.

Alabama? Better luck next time with the slide tackling.

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

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

BE HEARD

Got a question for Joe? Want to get something off your chest? Send Joe an email about what’s on your mind. Let your voice be heard. Ask him anything.

Joseph Goodman is the lead 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.”