Where have you been?
Oh, that's right. Auburn was mired in offensive ineptitude for the the better part of the 2015 season and the early stages of 2016, while LSU was busy stumbling out of the gates this year, firing its head coach, working through a midseason quarterback change and dealing with an injury to superstar running back Leonard Fournette.
But now it's time for the SEC to take LSU and Auburn seriously again, because both are lurking outside the Top 10 just waiting to pounce on the College Football Playoff if chaos strikes elsewhere in November.