In a game of punches and counter-punches, visiting South Carolina gave Clemson one of its toughest battles of the season on Saturday. But the one-dimensional effort wasn’t enough as the No. 2 Tigers defeated the Gamecocks 56-35.

Foreshadowing for the shootout came in the first half, when South Carolina coach Will Muschamp went for it on fourth down inside the Clemson 5-yard line. His strategy revealed that he didn’t think field goals would be enough.

Fourth downs near the Clemson goal line proved to be the difference as South Carolina was stopped twice, including a key stop late in the third quarter with the Gamecocks down three touchdowns.

Clemson’s offense, meanwhile, had scoring drives of 95, 97 and 98 yards on its way to more than 700 total yards.

Those fourth-down stops helped Clemson to its fifth straight win in the Palmetto Bowl, its longest such streak since it won seven straight over the Gamecocks from 1934-40. The Tigers’ run follows South Carolina’s streak of five wins in row from 2009-13 with coach Steve Spurrier and future NFL players Stephon Gilmore, Jadeveon Clowney and Alshon Jeffery making big impacts.

This time, though, South Carolina couldn’t keep up its offensive pace from the first half, as Clemson outscored the Gamecocks 14-0 in the third quarter. The teams exchanged touchdowns in the first half as Clemson led 28-21 at halftime. Gamecocks quarterback Jake Bentley hit wide receiver Deebo Samuel for his third touchdown catch of the night, and Bentley’s fourth TD pass, to again cut the margin to three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Bentley wound up with five touchdown passes and more than 500 passing yards.

Much of the talk around the state last week was about the gap Clemson held over South Carolina, and the Tigers showed at Death Valley how wide that is.

The final turning point came late in the third quarter when Bentley couldn’t complete a pass over the middle, ending a 15-play, 73-yard drive. That was eerily similar to a first-half drive that ended after 12 plays, and Clemson again responded with a scoring drive that went the length of the field.

It was otherwise a banner day for Bentley. He reached 340 yards passing midway through the third quarter, erasing Tommy Suggs’ record for passing yards in this rivalry game. Bentley did it without much of a rushing attack to take pressure off as the Gamecocks had just 40 rushing yards through three quarters.

He had two big plays in the first half, including one just three plays after Clemson’s 97-yard TD drive.

Bentley found Kiel Pollard for a 67-yard touchdown. Tigers safety Tanner Muse went for the ball and missed, which left Pollard free to scamper to the end zone.

Then Bentley found Samuel for a 75-yard touchdown on a deep crossing pass over the middle.

Samuel’s presence was a welcome sight for Gamecock fans after he missed last year’s game with an injury. In 2015, Samuel caught five passes for 104 yards and a touchdown in a 37-32 loss to Clemson. Two years ago at Death Valley, Samuel was South Carolina’s lone touchdown in a 56-7 Clemson blowout.

In a game billed as a battle between two talented quarterbacks, they lived up to the hype.

By halftime, Bentley was 19-for-29 for 302 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence was 16-for-22 for 217 yards and a touchdown at that point; he wound up with more than 350 passing yards and a TD. Clemson rushed for six touchdowns, three by Adam Choice.

It was quite a departure for Bentley, who had previously struggled against Clemson.

Bentley threw for a combined 167 yards with three interceptions and just one touchdown in his two starts. The Gamecocks lost the two mismatches by a combined 90-17 margin.

Bentley was undaunted, though, and during the week, preferred to focus on this year. The offense he leads averaged about 43 points a game the previous three weeks.

“You can’t get too wrapped up in that,” Bentley said. “We have the mindset that this is 2018 South Carolina playing 2018 Clemson.”

Lawrence, meanwhile, has made a seamless transition since winning the QB job from Kelly Bryant, who announced plans to transfer. The Tigers averaged 47 points a game in his first seven starts. He did it without having to worry about Gamecock LB/DE Bryson Allen-Williams who was out after surgery for an ankle injury. Pass rusher D.J. Wonnum, expected to play earlier in the week, did not make the trip.