Troy fans eagerly awaited the start of the 2013 season for a variety of reasons, but one of the biggest was the return of Trojan legend, and defensive coordinator, Wayne Bolt.

In his first stint at Troy as coordinator, from 1997-2002, Bolt’s units ranked near the top of the NCAA in most defensive categories, and even got coined “Dead Bolt” defenses.

In Bolt’s re-debut on Saturday, Troy gave up 447 yards of offense and 31 points. But Bolt said that the stats don’t tell the whole story.

“We (Troy defense) gave up two big plays in the first quarter,” Bolt said. “After that, we gave up 10 points in the second and third quarters and no points in the fourth quarter or overtime. That is a tribute to our kids. They kept fighting, kept fighting and kept fighting, and it was a great learning experience for them. I am really, really proud of them.”

This week the Troy defense will see a Savannah State team that has had struggled to move the football effectively over the last few seasons.

The Tigers managed only 183 yards of offense and notched just nine first downs in a 77-9 rout the hands of Georgia Southern in week one.

Savannah State averaged 2.9 yards per play in the ugly loss.

Bolt said that teams always improve from week one to week two, and he doesn’t see that changing now.

“We have always said you get better from the first game to the second game,” Bolt said. “That has always been, what we as coaches, have preached to our kids. I think that has to be the motto, not only from the first game to the second game, but also day to day. We are looking to get better. We can’t be satisfied after one game. It is an ongoing process.”

Troy is 42-18-1 all-time against teams from the state of Georgia, but has never faced Savannah State.

Bolt said that the Trojans won’t be taking the week off or looking past the Tigers this week.

“We moved on to a team that didn’t have much success against Georgia Southern,” Bolt said. “We preach to the kids every week, that any team can beat any other team. That is out motto this week.”