New season. New enthusiasm.

New quarterback. New offensive coordinator.

Same head coach. Same result. Only worse.

The more things change at Auburn, the more the frustration remains and deepens. The more the defense does its job, the more the offense drops the ball in unprecedented ways.

The more the head coach hypes the Tigers as real contenders, and outsiders believe the hype, the more they prove they're simply not ready for prime time.

Again.

There should be no shame in losing a road game to the reigning national champions in a stadium known as Death Valley. The shame is that no one should've been surprised by No. 3 Clemson 14, No. 13 Auburn 6.

Against the better teams on the schedule, Gus Malzahn still has no answers, especially in his alleged area of expertise.

For the sixth straight time, Auburn lost to a top-10 team. The last time the Tigers got the better of one of the better teams in the nation, Nick Marshall was the quarterback and No. 7 Ole Miss was the victim.

The date was Nov. 1, 2014.

For the seventh straight meeting, Auburn lost to a top-3 team. The last time the Tigers beat someone of that magnitude, Malzahn was considered an offensive genius, Nick Saban outsmarted himself and the Kick Six happened.

No. 1 Alabama was the victim. The date was Nov. 30, 2013.

Almost four years later, for reasons that have yet to be revealed or understood, Malzahn continues to try to recreate the magic of Marshall with a quarterback better known for his arm than his legs.

It didn't work with Jeremy Johnson or Sean White, and the early returns show that Jarrett Stidham has a long way to go to grow into a championship quarterback. That, and Rhett Lashlee may not have been the problem.

Give some credit to another nasty Clemson defense, but this was a new low for a Malzahn offense in so many ways, from 117 total yards to six final points. And the sacks. So many sacks.

For the second straight year, the Auburn defense played well enough to win against a diverse Clemson offense led by a true dual-threat quarterback. Kelly Bryant is no Deshaun Watson, but Clemson's new starter showed plenty of promise, especially the way he rebounded from one hard, clean hit.

One touchdown would've been enough for the home team to survive Saturday. Bryant produced two. Those two touchdowns towered over Auburn's two field goals, which were mere consolation prizes at the end of two failed trips inside the Clemson 10.

For the second straight year, Auburn lost to Clemson because Kevin Steele and his defense continue to give more than they're getting. You hold the reigning national champions to two touchdowns in their house, hold them scoreless for the first 29 minutes and the final 26 minutes, too, you deserve better.

The problem is, the Auburn offense performed no better against Clemson under new coordinator Chip Lindsey than it did last year under Lashlee. In fact, the offense produced fewer yards and points with one quarterback taking all the snaps than it did with three QBs rotating beyond rhyme or reason.

Stidham clearly needs more time and a lot more help if he's going to become the quarterback Auburn hopes he can be. He seemed terribly reluctant to let go of the ball at times, perhaps because his receivers routinely failed to create much separation.

That combination only partially explains Stidham being sacked a crushing 11 times. Can you say offensive line? The sack-fest was a tribute to Clemson's talent and schemes and an embarrassing indictment of Auburn on both fronts.

So for the fourth straight time, Auburn lost to Clemson. For the third time in Malzahn's five years as head coach, his Tigers lost their first true road game of the season.

For the second straight year, Clemson showed Auburn what a real championship contender looks like. The worst part for Malzahn and company is that absolutely no one should've been surprised.