The 116th meeting of the Palmetto Bowl is set to kick off next week at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium in a series that has featured a couple of recent streaks.

Following an impressive run by Steve Spurrier at South Carolina that saw five straight Gamecocks wins, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney reversed that fortune and has won four straight. The Tigers have a chance to match Spurrier’s streak and beat the Gamecocks five straight times for the first time since winning seven in a row from 1934-40.

South Carolina is actually the better team in turnovers during the current streak, with 4 to Clemson’s 6. There also isn’t a significant difference in penalties, with South Carolina at 20 and Clemson at 14.

But here are 10 things the Tigers have done to reclaim momentum in a series they lead 69-42-4:

1. Recruiting

The state is well known for producing top talent, but the high school depth is often ranked below neighboring states like Georgia and Florida. Clemson has landed the top player in the state three of the last four years, including the top two players in 2018 and 2016. Though South Carolina got the top three players in 2017, the Tigers’ classes have ranked higher than the Gamecocks’ the last six years. The Gamecocks haven’t had a higher-ranked class since 2012, when they were No. 20 and Clemson was No. 15. Receiver Shaq Roland, who began his college career at South Carolina, was the top-ranked player in the state that year.

2. Deshaun Watson

The national championship-winning quarterback was a key piece of the 2014 class, which was ranked 16th nationally and third in the ACC. That came on the heels of a 2013 class that featured players like Ben Boulware, Shaq Lawson and Mackensie Alexander, key pieces of the defense. Watson is widely viewed as the best Clemson quarterback in recent history, better than the likes of Charlie Whitehurst, Tajh Boyd and Woody Dantzler. Watson was named offensive MVP of the 2017 national championship game against Alabama, when he went 36-of-56 for 420 yards and 3 touchdowns against the nation’s top-ranked defense, including the last-second game-winning pass to receiver Hunter Renfrow. Watson’s best game against the Gamecocks came in 2016, when he threw 6 TD passes as Clemson won 56-7, and he made a memorable gesture after one touchdown in which he placed his head in his hands.

3. Quarterbacks

Watson and, more recently, Kelly Bryant have been the better quarterbacks in a series in which South Carolina has fielded Jake Bentley and Perry Orth. In 2016, when Bentley took over the starting role, he suffered a knee injury against Clemson and was just 7-for-17 for 41 yards and an interception in the same game in which Watson threw the 6 TDs. Last year, Bentley was 16-for-29 for 126 yards, a TD and 2 interceptions.

Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

4. Dabo Swinney

The Clemson head coach was named national coach of the year by at least one service four of the previous six years.

Even after losing to Alabama in last year’s College Football Playoffs, Swinney joined Bobby Bowden as the only ACC head coaches to lead a program to a final top-five ranking three straight years. The Tigers’ season last year featured wins over top-15 teams Auburn, Louisville and Virginia Tech in September, making them the first team in FBS history to record three top-15 wins in the opening month.

5. Pass rush

Clemson’s current defensive line gets plenty of attention, but the Tigers have consistently had the better pass rush in the series. During its four-game winning streak in the series, Clemson has 13 sacks while the Gamecocks have 2. During the last four years overall, South Carolina has had 26 (last year), 21, 20 and 14 sacks and Clemson 46, 49, 48 and 45. While South Carolina has been near the bottom of the SEC, Clemson has ranked in the nation’s top seven each of the last four years.

6. Rushing

Clemson has controlled the rushing attack, collecting more than 200 yards in three of the four games while holding South Carolina under 100 yards twice. Clemson has averaged 223.7 yards while South Carolina has averaged 109. The Gamecocks, reminiscent of stretches this season, have not had a 100-yard rusher during the four-game streak. Their best individual rushing effort came in 2015, when Lorenzo Nunez went for 75 yards.

7. Handling trash talk

In another issue that has been relevant this year in losses to Georgia and Kentucky, South Carolina has had trouble winning a game when a quote, or offseason statement, has fired up the opponent. Last year, South Carolina radio broadcaster Todd Ellis said, “We’re cycling in and Clemson is cycling out.” That followed Bentley’s quote from the offseason when he said, “Never again will Clemson outwork us” following a 56-7 loss in 2016.

8. Third-down success

Clemson has converted at a 58 percent clip on third down in the last four games, while South Carolina is at 38 percent. The biggest margin was in 2016, when Clemson made 10 of 15 third-down conversions compared to 4-for-13 for South Carolina. That was a theme for South Carolina in those seasons as a whole, as the Gamecocks converted at less than 40 percent in three of the four.

9. NFL Draft picks

Clemson has had 23 NFL Draft picks in the lpast four years, while South Carolina has had 8. Not only does it speak to the talent on the field, it offers a boost to recruiting to keep the machine churning. In one of the more revealing stats, following a coaching change the Gamecocks had zero draft picks in 2017 and just one in 2018.

10. Clemson led the stadium upgrade push

The Tigers in 2016 opened a $55 million team headquarters that has amusement park amenities, including a miniature golf course, a slide, basketball court and a nap room. Having the ability to sell that to recruiting classes preceded the opening. There’s also a new pedestrian bridge project on the west end zone that connects the north and south decks. And there was a south stands renovation that upgraded the suites and press box on the home side of the stadium.

South Carolina this year announced $21 million in improvements for Williams-Brice Stadium. There will be 38 new loge boxes (152 seats) and an observation dock. Also, a “2001 Club” will feature a luxury, ground-level, air-conditioned club space that accommodates loge patrons and an additional 300 passes that offer access to “fabulous views of the Gamecocks entering the field to Space Odyssey 2001.”