The Daily Orange

Media Credit: Rachel Fus

One Robinson strode into the postgame press conference head held high, unwilling to let one loss damper the pride he's built up for years. The other Robinson shuffled in gingerly, red-eyed, unwilling to accept the night went as it did.

Meet the Robinsons indeed. Friday's game against Washington was supposed to be Andrew Robinson's coronation. It ended up being Greg Robinson's disintegration.

Talk all summer focused around the pressure on Greg Robinson, who in his third season has seen his name on almost every "hot seat" list in the country and has been designated the consensus fall guy for a team that never really lifted off.

But Andrew Robinson is not without expectations, too. He's the golden boy of the program, the chosen leader handpicked to guide Syracuse out of its doom days.

So who's carrying whom? Who's bearing more weight on their shoulders-the young quarterback whose face adorns the team image or the old coach with little margin for further disappointment?

Friday's inglorious debut for Andrew Robinson shouldn't be immediately misinterpreted. After all, his 20 completions, 199 yards and one touchdown came with an offensive line that almost yielded as many sacks (seven) as total rushing yards (eight). He showed the poise that's been talked about and the arm that's been written about. For a kid making his first start at the most important position in one of Syracuse's most important games in years, he did exactly what was reasonable.

"First of all, he hung tough," Greg Robinson said. "Second, he maintained his poise for the most part-we had some exchange problems for a little bit, but I think it was more with the noise than anything else. We'll have to deal with that."

Contrary to what most predicted, though, Andrew Robinson's play was not the story against Washington. Everything else was. The defense that allowed the Huskies to run through like water; the running game that evaporated; the new offensive formation that did little to change anything; the offensive line that did little to stop anything.

Robinson faded into background noise-a dying whisper next to the glaring horns of the rest of Syracuse's evident needs. It was supposed to be his party, but the lights went out. And now he's left with the mess.

"Obviously, we did not expect for this to happen the first game of the season," Andrew Robinson said. "We expected the offense to play a lot better than it did. We have to get back to the drawing board."

He shifted blame almost entirely to himself, conspicuously avoiding mention of the offensive line or running backs or defense. He even admitted being bluffed a few times, taking too many sacks and not being effective enough making checks at the line of scrimmage.

Robinson's short history with the game has been well-chronicled. It was not too long ago his first play as a varsity quarterback-his sophomore year at Calvert-was a touchdown pass off the bench in the team's fourth game. A few years later, his first starting spot is at primetime on ESPN.

Heavy lies his crown.

He's Syracuse's deemed savior, yet few fans know anything about him. I walked around the Dome before the game and stopped people to get their thoughts on SU's new young quarterback. I asked them how much they really knew about Robinson.

"To tell you the truth, not much," said Ken Stigner, a junior education major at SU.

Some had low expectations ("I hope he throws a pass on the first play," said Joe Kennedy, a Syracuse fan for 40 years); others high ("200 yards and two touchdowns," said Matt Hill, a student at East Syracuse Minoa High School).

"We just need someone to lead the team," said Scott Fellows, a Camillus resident. "There's been a lack of leadership the last couple of years. I'm hoping, since he's one of Greg Robinson's guys, he can do the job."

It's a job few would envy to hold right now, especially given who's around the quarterback. The same goes for Greg Robinson. They are together, linked in undesirability. There's more to the Syracuse puzzle than the head coach and quarterback, of course, but no two positions carry so much weight and yet reflect upon each other so meaningfully.

Andrew and Greg Robinson need each other more than they may realize. Andrew Robinson needs a coach to guide him past this first debacle. Greg Robinson needs a quarterback to stand tall as a playmaker for his job's sake.

And what do they both need? A little more blind faith and another shoulder to share the load.

Zach Schonbrun is an assistant sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his columns appear occasionally. He can be reached at zschonbrun@gmail.com.

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