Two teams clash over the right to wear orange and call themselves the Tigers.

Last January, the No. 3 Clemson Tigers dispatched an SEC team to win a national title. On Saturday, they will have the chance to go 2-0 against the state of Alabama when they face the No. 13 Auburn Tigers on their home turf. The two teams meet in one of 2017’s marquee non-conference battles at 7 p.m. ET, live on ESPN (live stream).

Clemson rolled over Kent State to start its championship defense, earning a 56-3 victory against an overmatched MAC opponent. The absence of standouts like Deshaun Watson and Wayne Gallman didn’t make an impact last week, but players like Kelly Bryant and C.J. Fuller will get a significantly tougher challenge against an SEC defense Saturday. Auburn ran Georgia Southern ragged to start its season 1-0, and a win in South Carolina would send a message not just to the SEC, but to the college football world as a whole.

Time, TV channel, and streaming info

• Time: 7 p.m. ET
• Location: Memorial Stadium, Clemson, S.C.
• TV: ESPN
• Streaming: Watch ESPN
• Odds: Clemson is favored by 9 points.

Auburn vs. Clemson news:

• How did Auburn handle Georgia Southern? A steady diet of sweeps and smashes.

OH YOU KNEW IT WAS COMING. BUCK SWEEP Y’ALL. BEEF COMIN DOWNHILL. SPEED ON THE EDGE. The Eagles had been over-playing the inside runs, and the buck sweep is a great constraint to stop that.

• Last year’s Clemson team was national champion on both the gridiron AND social media.

But they are at their best when it comes to football. Look no further than Clemson’s football Twitter account. Before Gantt’s arrival in 2013, it didn’t rank among college football’s 10 most-followed team accounts. It’s now No. 1.

• In case you’ve forgotten Clemson beat Ohio State last year, the Tiger band is here to remind you.
• Kelly Bryant’s first start was enough to inspire confidence in the Clemson offense.

You couldn’t ask for more from Bryant in his debut. The Spring game got thrown in the trash when he hurt his finger. Here we saw Bryant’s ability to burn defenders (and his own RB) in the open field and connect on the deep ball. More of that please against Auburn. Bryant now will face some real competition and some adversity. He will need to prove he can make the right read and convert on third down.

If Clemson can stop the run, Auburn may be in trouble.

Jarrett Stidham impressed as a part-time starting quarterback at Baylor, but his first game with the Tigers wasn’t spectacular. He completed 14 of 24 passes for 185 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception — not bad numbers, but nothing to crow about against 2016’s No. 68-ranked pass defense. Auburn bolstered his decent day with two strong performances from Kam Martin and Kerryon Johnson, who ran for 136 yards apiece.

An effective running attack gave Stidham room to operate, but if the Tigers can shut down Auburn’s two-headed attack, it’ll leave little room for error in the passing game. Stidham is a talented quarterback who can fit passes into tight windows, but his debut with the Tigers failed to follow up on the big-armed outings of his Baylor days.

Auburn vs. Clemson prediction:

The returning champions get the opportunity to host one of 2017’s marquee games, and while a post-title hangover could be in the works — especially with Watson gone -- Auburn may not have the personnel to leave Death Valley with a win. On Saturday, we’ll see two quarterbacks with plenty to prove. While Bryant is the less experienced of the two, his ability to create plays with his feet could be the difference maker in a Clemson win.