So it seems that Auburn is going to play the revenge card for Saturday night’s game against LSU in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

OK. That’s fair, but only because, of course, all is fair in love and the rugged Southeastern Conference West.

You do what you have to do.

Evidently LSU’s 35-21 victory in last year’s game still sticks in the craw of Auburn and head coach Gus Malzahn.

“Embarrassing,” Malzahn called it. “Not a whole lot was good on offense, defense or special teams.”

At least that’s the way he remembers it.

It seems Les Miles gets blamed for everything these days.

Auburn, for instance, is gearing up into payback mode because last year’s loss to LSU was the lone blemish it suffered before unexpectedly getting to the last Bowl Championship Series national championship game.

But in other quarters, LSU is taking a lot of the blame, even in victory, for igniting the hot streak that Auburn rode to crank up its up-tempo offense and take advantage of probably the two most unlikely plays of the year to win the SEC title.

There is a bit of revisionist history at work on Auburn’s part. Malzahn should have sent Miles’ a gift basket.

When Auburn left Tiger Stadium that rainy night, there was little to suggest that it was about to get on a major roll in Malzahn’s first season. Auburn didn’t lose again and got within 9 seconds of winning the national title before Florida State prevailed.

Yet at the time the LSU victory didn’t raise many eyebrows.

After all, LSU went into the game ranked No. 6. Auburn, although 3-0, was unranked after finishing dead last in the SEC West the previous year.

LSU, in fact, was a 17-point favorite going into the game (and didn’t cover).

So it seemed just about right when the home Tigers jumped to a 21-0 halftime lead. They were just well on their way to beating Auburn for the sixth time seven years — a streak interrupted only by Cam Newton’s Heisman moment in 2010.

No big deal, right? It was 35-14 after LSU scored on the first play of the fourth quarter.

But, in hindsight, something happened after the skies cleared for the second half in that game.

“That was one of the defining moments our entire year at halftime of that game,” Malzahn said this week. “There were some good things to build on for the rest of the year.”

Malzahn’s wild offense, which spreads the field but emphasizes the run with the read-option, started clicking for the first time, really, all season.

Auburn got all 21 of its points and 333 of its 437 total yards in the second half.

Auburn never got closer than two touchdowns, but, for a game that LSU looked to have well under control, it took a goal-line stand and a recovered onside kick to keep things from really getting antsy.

“We took such a strong lead initially, but I just didn’t like how we finished,” Miles said at the time. “We have to finish this.”

LSU held the Auburn attack to its season-low with the 21 points, but the War Eagles hadn’t scored more than 38 even against suspect competition before coming to Tiger Stadium.

After leaving LSU, Auburn, with converted defensive back Nick Marshall at quarterback, won nine straight before the Florida State title loss while averaging 45 points per game.

It all started with a 17-point underdog down 21 points at halftime.

“Our guys decided they weren’t going to shut her down,” Malzahn recalled. “They were going to keep fighting. We fought back, and it really gave us some momentum for the rest of the season.”

It’s carried over and the tables are turned leading into the game this season.

Auburn (4-0, 1-0 SEC) is ranked No. 5 in the nation while the Tigers (4-1, 0-1) are No. 15. Auburn is a touchdown favorite.

Maybe it’s the revenge factor.(Associated Press)

Gerald Herbert