Auburn offensive line coach Hugh Nall has one simple request for his line this week when the Tigers take on South Florida.

"Coach Nall wants us to be more aggressive, be nasty and have an attitude about us like the guys last year," senior left tackle King Dunlap said.

Nall hopes those things will improve the Tigers' running attack. The Tigers managed a paltry 62 yards rushing in their opener against Kansas State -- or only 1.7 yards per carry. A team that prides itself on its rushing game finds itself looking for answers to improve that part of its game.

It's not one thing, says offensive coordinator Al Borges.

"Everybody wants to point to one thing because they want to find a spot to blame," Borges said. "I promise you it's not one thing."

The Tigers hope to improve the efforts of the line, the running backs, the wide receivers and quarterback Brandon Cox. Each have to play a role in keeping the Auburn offense running in synch and each had breakdowns against Kansas State.

The line knows it needs to work on its push and "get off," for the running game to have more room.

"We didn't get that attitude until later on in the game," Dunlap said. "We've got to come out this week and be nasty early because we've got to be nasty to win. We know teams are going to stack eight or nine in the box on us. Even when they do that, we know we've got to run the ball. We have to keep on our blocks and finish and open holes for the running backs."

That mindset has to extend to the running backs, said senior Carl Stewart.

"I think a lot of guys weren't really ready for what the tempo was going to be like in an actual game," Stewart said. "We have to be more aggressive off the ball."

Sophomore Ben Tate earned the start with junior Brad Lester suspended indefinitely for academic issues. Tate led the Tigers with 82 yards on 23 carries, while Stewart added 7 yards on five carries.

One big question facing coaches is when to play redshirt freshman Mario Fannin. The Tigers have a history of holding inexperienced guys out until they're confident they can handle their roles. In 2005, Kenny Irons didn't get significant playing time until the third game. Tate was held back several games last year.

"I'm working harder in practice," Fannin said. "I'm making sure I've got everything covered A to Z."

Learning the pass protections has been the hardest part for Fannin, who said it's about knowing which man to take on the blitz and getting steps right.

"It's little minor things I need to work on," Fannin said. "Hopefully when I get that first carry, I'll break one. But if not, I'll just make sure it's a hard run. Just to get out there and show the coaches they can trust me is the major thing."

Auburn coaches have been roasted on the message boards for their insistence in running the ball. That philosophy isn't going to change.

"Sometimes you have to be hard-headed about it," head coach Tommy Tuberville said. "It seems like right now, we're so concerned about executing that some people are not ad-libbing enough to make a play. We don't have imagination. You're always looking for guys to make a play and break a tackle and go 30 yards downfield."

Pairing the imagination of the skill players with the nastiness of the linemen will be the goal for Saturday.

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