AUBURN | T.J. Finley has the full support of his teammates and coaches as he prepares to start his first game at quarterback for Auburn Saturday night at South Carolina.

But if they really want to help Finley, those coaches will come up with a better scheme and those players will execute at a higher level to give the sophomore the running game that’s eluded the Tigers for much of conference play.

“We've got to take the pressure off him a little bit,” said senior center Nick Brahms. “T.J. has a great arm. He can throw really well. He's going to be excited to make some throws and he will, because he can and he's capable.

“But yeah, the run game is going to be big. It's always big every week, even when we had Bo. Get that run game going, and that opens up everything on offense."

Auburn enters the game ranked 11th averaging just 121.7 rushing yards in six SEC games. The Gamecocks haven’t been the best defending the run, also ranking 11th allowing 199.57 rushing yards per game.

Running back Tank Bigsby has broken 100 yards against one conference opponent, going for 140 and one touchdown against Ole Miss Oct. 30. The Rebels rank 12th in the SEC in rushing defense.

“It’s going to be very important. We need to dominate the line of scrimmage both in the running game and the passing game,” said Finley. “When you’re the most physical team, the outcome of success is very high. The rate of success is very high.

“Once we get the running game going, and I believe we will. Those guys upfront have been working their butts off. Coach Friend is doing an amazing job with the run game, the game plan, to get these guys in the best situation to be successful. So I do believe you’ll see a different run attack this week. I just can’t wait to display that for you guys.”

Kickoff at Williams-Brice Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.