One year after being handed a 19-13 defeat at home by the eventual national champions, Auburn was looking for redemption when it traveled to Clemson on Saturday night. That did not happen.

Instead, Clemson sacked transfer quarterback Jarrett Stidham 11 times, Auburn cashed two field goals early instead of touchdowns and Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant caught fire after a brief injury to lead Clemson to a 14-6 win.

Here's what you should take away from the matchup between the set of Tigers on Saturday night.

1. Clemson's front seven is terrifying: A lot was made of Stidham's struggles during the night. After all, his 79 passing yards on 13-of-24 isn't exactly the downfield passing attack coach Gus Malzahn promised. It wasn't all on him, though. 

Clemson didn't allow Auburn to stretch the field at all, because aside from the 11 sacks -- which is a massive stat to "overlook" -- he was on the run on virtually ever medium and deep drop. That coupled with tight coverage downfield by a Clemson secondary that's massively underrated made Auburn incredibly one-dimensional in a game in which that dimension -- the rushing attack -- didn't have much room to operate.

This defensive front is why Clemson should be considered the favorite in the ACC. No, the offense won't be as dynamic in the post-Deshaun Watson era, but it doesn't have to be. Clemson held Auburn to just 117 yards on 66 plays. As long as your quarterback doesn't make mistakes, that'll play. 

2. Kelly Bryant is just fine: Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant didn't look great early on, and the outlook for his Tigers looked even worse when he left the game with an injury after a big hit in the second quarter down six. Then he caught fire. 

Bryant dropped two dimes on the final drive of the second quarter, including a 29-yarder to Ray Ray McCloud to set himself up to run in a touchdown. He threw for 181 yards, scored a second touchdown on the ground in the third quarter and played smart with the ball knowing that his defense and his team were in control of the game.

That's veteran stuff. That's the stuff of leaders. Those are the types of characteristics that made Watson a legend. Of course, Bryant isn't Watson yet and may never be, but he gave off a good Watson impression against a stout Auburn defense in the biggest game of his brief career Saturday night, which makes this a complete Clemson team that can't be ignored.

3. Same Ol' Auburn: Remember this summer, when Auburn coach Gus Malzahn told anybody with a live microphone that he had handed over the key to the offense to new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey? Evidently, he kept a spare in his back pocket and put it in the ignition at the worst possible time.

The play calling for the Tigers was predictable and stale, especially when they got in the red zone early in the first quarter. On 1st and Goal from the 2-yard line on the opening drive, the Tigers ran Kam Pettway into a stacked line twice and then tried H-Back Chandler Cox on 3rd and Goal from the 1. That was the most Malzahn sequence of all time -- ultra-predictable followed by so ridiculously crazy that it simply can't work. It's this kind of coaching that will get Malzahn fired. 

If he truly can't keep his hands off the offense after saying that he would, it will not sit well with the powers-that-be.

4. It might not matter, because Auburn's offensive line is awful: Auburn's offense was predictable, but it was limited due to the offensive line's struggles. Prince Tega Wanahgo got beat consistently at left tackle, the interior of the offensive line couldn't hold the line of scrimmage and Stidham, understandably, was looking at the pass rush and trying to save himself rather than looking downfield at receivers. 

If your quarterback is running around in the backfield yelling "blow the whistle, blow the whistle" like the Texas State Fighting Armadillo backup quarterback in the 1991 classic "Necessary Roughness," you're not going to do much.

Auburn won't see many defensive fronts like Clemson, but it looks like any defense that fields a defense of 11 real life football players can get pressure on Stidham based on Saturday's performance. 

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