This is an opinion column.

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We roll into Week 11 of the college football season with Vanderbilt holding bragging rights on the entire state of Alabama. The post-Halloween Monday mailbag is out for blood.

Jim in Scottsboro writes …

Body slam body slam and body slam will get us there eventually, said Diego Pavia. I thought that is what Jarquez Hunter was for? It makes you question coach Hugh Freeze’s situational awareness in a game.

GOODMAN: The SEC has a new folk hero

Jarquez only gets 10 or so carries in a game? It’s like Payton Thorne is free to do what he wants without any restraints from Freeze. And that is never good. This team has no discipline as it continues to make penalties that ends drives or puts the game out of reach. There is no improvement. That has to be on Coach Freeze.

The worst scenario is coming to fruition. It’s very unlikely that they beat Texas A&M or Bama.

You are correct that Freeze might get another year, but can you imagine any coach being on a hotter seat than Freeze next year? The type of hot seat that could get you fired mid-season.

Perhaps it’s time to consider DJ Durkin as a viable option for head coach? He seems to be young and savvy and could keep the recruits on board. If Freeze flames out I would have that under wraps. Do you think Durkin is ready?

One parting thought I wonder what Tommy Tuberville thought when Diego held up his three fingers? A touch of irony.

Warren from North Alabama writes …

If there is a coach who can replace Freeze this week that can do better, then please name him. Otherwise AU is gonna just have to stick it out for a change. Continuing to change coaches is a losing proposition. And even worse in the NIL era…

Jordan-Scare (HALLOWEEN TERM) used to be really scary to come play in Auburn. That’s no more!!! And it sucks being a lifelong Auburn fan. I’ve seen the good and the bad through my 50 years on this earth, but Auburn has brought the current situation upon ourselves.

Clay in Mountain Brook writes …

As an Auburn student in 1969, Vanderbilt made me a believer when they beat Alabama and Bear Bryant at night 14-10. We had won our game earlier in the day by beating Clemson 51-0 and felt pretty good as a result. Everyone in Auburn listened to the Alabama game on the radio and when the Auburn students heard the final score, they descended on Toomer’s Corner to celebrate and rub it in.

This was before rolling Toomer’s Corner had become a thing, but lots of white spray paint came out of the woodwork and the student body went wild painting 14-10 on the side of every building in downtown Auburn. Some of these cave paintings were still legible years later.

ANSWER: The worst thing Auburn could do at this point in its rebuild is fire the architect. Most Auburn fans understand the conundrum where Auburn now finds itself, but that doesn’t mean anyone can stomach an embarrassing season that includes a 17-7 loss at home to Vanderbilt.

In this new era of college football, Vanderbilt can be a serious contender in the SEC. Most fans will find that hard to believe, though.

I’m not about to make any excuses for Freeze — he’s 4-10 against SEC opponents since being hired — but the struggles of his team need to be framed in the proper context. Auburn is less than two seasons removed from the worst coach in the history of the SEC. At the same time, college football is in the middle of a revolution. Cash is king. Teams can no longer stockpile talent, and wealthy private schools like BYU and Vanderbilt are emerging as legitimate threats.

Vanderbilt physically manhandled Auburn and Alabama this season and nearly upset Texas. Is anyone going to be surprised when the Commodores upset South Carolina, LSU or Tennessee? BYU is in position to make the College Football Playoff. The reason for the transformations at Vandy and BYU is the combination of NIL money and the transfer portal.

If only Freeze had gone into the portal for Vandy quarterback Diego Pavia.

Freeze was too proud and so now he’s 0-3 all-time against the SEC new folk hero.

The SEC is starting to feel like a miniature version of the NFL, isn’t it? In Week 10, Vanderbilt destroyed Auburn at Jordan-Hare and South Carolina clobbered top-10 ranked Texas A&M. Talent is spread out across the league. Every week is highlighted by a new surprise. When was the last time the SEC was this balanced? The answer is never.

Auburn and Oklahoma are traditional powers of college football and they’re both near the bottom of the league standings going into Week 11. Oklahoma is 1-4 in the SEC. Auburn is 1-5. The Sooners are struggling because former coach Lincoln Riley saw the writing on the wall and left for Southern Cal. Riley didn’t want anything to do with the SEC. Current OU coach Brent Venables is on the hot seat and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets fired before the end of the season.

Auburn’s situation is different. I still think Freeze can be a good coach. He’s recruiting some of the best offensive players in the country and Auburn’s young defense looked better against Vanderbilt than Alabama. Auburn is in better shape for next season than teams like Oklahoma and Florida.

Expect Florida to hire Lane Kiffin away from Ole Miss. Like it or not, Auburn is married to Freeze until his recruits begin defecting. A lot of people said Freeze was a good fit for Auburn, but I’ll keep dreaming about Coach Prime.

David writes …

The real loss of Birmingham-Southern was to the state as a whole. It was the only nationally ranked small private college in Alabama. Other names will emerge one day to fill that niche but not anytime soon. The means to save that college were available however the politics weren’t right. Money was not the real problem. Playing the blame game is useless.

GOODMAN: When rings represent the courage of the human heart

Insofar as the Panther BSC baseball team being bequeathed team rings, that is a splendid talisman to remember what they accomplished. To endure excellence in the face of a certain dreaded institution failure is the supreme example of human achievement.

ANSWER: I’ll never cover another story like the final few weeks of the Birmingham-Southern baseball team. I can’t wait for the documentary on the team that’s being produced by Blue Eyes Entertainment. I’m hearing that Chipper Jones is involved.

As for postscripts of the Panthers, readers will be happy to know that assistant coach JD Hulse was named National Assistant Coach of the Year. Hulse and former BSC head coach Jan Weisberg are now at Valdosta State.