These last two years have felt like an eternity for SEC fans, the ones who like to stick out their chests during the postseason, boasting about the league’s college football-wide dominance against elite Power 5s.

See where I’m going with this?

Since Alabama capped off the league’s seventh consecutive BCS championship to punctuate the 2012 campaign, the SEC has fallen flat on the grand stage. A blown coverage cost Auburn against Jameis Winston and Florida State during the 2013 ‘Granddaddy of Them All’ while the Crimson Tide failed to stop the Ohio State freight train during last year’s semifinal debacle in New Orleans.

Suddenly, the Big Ten is the favorite to repeat, the Big 12 boasts two offense-rich title contenders and the Pac-12’s gaining ground.

What happened to the big, bad SEC?

Truthfully, it never left since America’s most competitive conference has maintained its strangehold on recruiting and overall revenue, but the league’s strength as a whole has led to a cannibalistic logjam down the stretch — which could very well happen again this fall.

Last season, the SEC was expected to clean up during bowl season thanks to so many teams inside the AP Top 25 with sparkling resumes, but the league stumbled to a 2-4 record overall against ranked teams and failed to impress in the spotlight.

Defenses appeared tired, offensive lines weren’t as dominant and some of the league’s elite coaches were out-schemed on the field.

Perceived elites Alabama, Georgia and Auburn will carry the torch this fall, the only squads capable of tip-toeing through a treacherous gauntlet with one loss or fewer by season’s end. If none of those three — or perhaps an SEC darkhorse — reaches the College Football Playoff, endless streams of content will be produced pushing the notion that the league has lost its edge.

One extreme challenge involving the SEC’s shot at national redemption is cross-divisional scheduling. Georgia, the preseason Eastern Division favorite according to oddsmakers, takes on Alabama and Auburn out the West this season. The defending SEC champion Crimson Tide travel to Athens and host Tennessee, a team many think could reach nine wins thanks to an elite defense.

Then there’s Auburn, everyone’s sexy preseason pick to take out Nick Saban’s squad in the West thanks to expected improvements defensively and ‘Cam Newton 2.0’ Jeremy Johnson under center. Considering the Tigers won just eight games last fall and struggled mightily down the stretch, the pressure’s immense for Gus Malzahn and Co. Auburn and Georgia will meet for their annual rivalry game as well.

That leaves the question which one of these three programs could beat the other two en route to Atlanta?

The similarities are lengthy between the three in comparison to other Power 5 trifectas across the country. Elite running backs are a dime a dozen in the SEC this fall and each aforementioned frontrunner flexes several stars in its backfield.

There’s Heisman candidates Nick Chubb and Derrick Henry, versatile threats Kenyan Drake and Sony Michel and JUCO impact ballcarrier Jovon Robinson, who most believe will handle the lion’s share of the carries in Malzahn’s system. Should Alabama, Auburn and Georgia remain healthy on offense throughout and defensively show improvement, there’s no reason to believe a different SEC squad outside of the favored trio will be left standing when the dust settles the first weekend in December — although Ole Miss and Tennessee are closing from a talent standpoint.

Dominating on the ground and fixing minor struggles defensively is the SEC’s best shot at getting back to the national championship game and erasing some of the doubt that has altered national perception in Ohio State’s — along with Baylor and TCU’s — favor.