By Danielle Percival

On a night when the offense showed out, it was the defense that showed up in the Troy Trojans 66-3 rout of Savannah State Saturday night.

The Tigers were held to only 147 yards in the game with only 14 yards coming on the ground.

“We had to prepare well in order to have the kind of performance that we were looking for,” head coach Larry Blakeney said.

The Trojan defense pressured the Tigers throughout the night and was led by Jadarius Garner who accounted for six tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles.

“Pass rush is key; we have to get it done,” Garner said. “Anytime it’s one on one, we have to get them beat.”

The three points the Trojans allowed is the lowest total given up by the defense since a 2008 victory 48-3 over Louisiana-Lafayette.

The defense was also able to create turnovers in the game including an interception returned 78 yards for a touchdown by Eli Canton.

“We had a pretty clean operation,” Blakeney said. “We did not have a turnover and we wound up getting two.”

Saturday, Corey Robinson again put on a show going 17-of-19 for 180 yards and four touchdowns.

Robinson is now 47-of-51 through the first two games of the season.

He credits much of his success to his determination in the off-season.

“It’s just a lot of work I’ve put into it for this season,” Robinson said. “It’s paid off so far.”

He has been spending more time in the film room studying the opponents than in previous seasons.

“It’s easier when you know what you’re going to see before they even do it,” Robinson said.

Three of Robinson’s touchdowns were to Eric Thomas, who scored on every reception he made in the game.

“I think you could pick somebody out of the stands to throw to him,” Robinson said. “He’s got some of the best hands I’ve ever thrown to.”

The Trojans struck quickly scoring in less than two minutes on their first drive of the game.

Robinson and Thomas connected twice in the first quarter on nearly identical routes for touchdowns to put Troy up 14-0.

The Trojans held a 24-point lead but with less than a minute to go until halftime, the Tigers’ John Barron hit a 40-yard field goal to give Savannah State their only score of the evening.

Thomas was again the target of Robinson after halftime as they connected for a 50-yard touchdown pass just over a minute into the third quarter.

Troy put 28 points on the board in the third with several players getting the opportunity for their first score in their collegiate career.

The Trojans scored 42 points in the second half and racked up 531 yards of offense in the game.

The win marks the first time since 2008 that the Trojans have begun the year 2-0, but conference play begins next week with Troy on the road at Arkansas State.

It will be a quick turnaround with the Trojans and Red Wolves meeting on Thursday night.

“Now we have to recharge our batteries really quickly and get ready for an Arkansas State team that has won our conference two years in a row,” Blakeney said.