LSU fans might well be gathering around Tiger Stadium today, looking forlornly out toward the parking lots like dogs staring anxiously out the windows and waiting on their masters.

Are they ever coming back?

Yes. It’s time. As the second half of the season kicks off, the Tigers will be playing their third home game today when Auburn visits.

“It will be our fifth consecutive SEC game as well,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said. “Four of the first six on the road is very difficult, so it will be great to be back in Tiger Stadium.”

It hasn’t been easy for the No. 22-ranked Tigers (4-2, 3-1 SEC), who have wasted a lot of dynamic offense over the first half of the season while struggling defensively.

But Kelly said he feels better looking ahead, with five of the final six regular-season games at home.

“We’re right in the hunt,” he said. “The season is in front of us. With five of the last six games at home, we feel like we’re in a good position. Let’s got take care of business.”

Auburn (3-2, 0-2) is in a major rebuild in its first year under former Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze, struggling to throw the ball to complement a good running game.

Kelly says that’s not entirely true.

“They choose not to throw the ball,” he said. “That’s a big difference. Some are not capable of throwing and are not productive. They can throw the ball, so they keep you balanced from that perspective.

“They are certainly a run-first team, but you can’t just say, ‘Oh, they’re not going to throw it against LSU.’”

LSU will certainly do both.

The Tigers’ up-tempo passing game gets most of the headlines, with quarterback Jayden Daniels creeping into the Heisman Trophy discussion while throwing to Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas. But Daniels, who has accounted for four or more touchdowns in each of the last five games, does almost as damage with his feet. Thomas and Nabers are both in the top 10 nationally in receiving yards, and Thomas leads the nation with nine touchdown receptions.

Add running back Logan Diggs, a transfer from Notre Dame who has emerged from a crowded running back field to give the Tigers the go-to back they’ve been looking for, and it’s a more balanced offense than most might think. It’s also third in the nation in total offense.

Despite not starting the season opener, Diggs is third in the Southeastern Conference in rushing at just a hair under 100 yards per game.

“I don’t know that we had an exact formula in terms of how that was going to look,” Kelly said of Diggs’ rise. “But Logan has been really physical, really reliable in all areas, catching the ball, picking up protections, getting us tough yardage when need it.

“He’s gotten us in some really good third-down situations. I think we lead the country in third-down conversions, 56 percent.”