Daily News from New York, New York • 65

College Football Ol A SOUTH BEND The season is only a month old, but Purdue's senior quarterback Kyle Orton already is attempting to close the polls in the Heisman Trophy balloting. The 6-4, 226-pound Orton completed 21 of 31 passes for 385 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions as the 15th-ranked Boilermakers (4-0) defeated and deflated the Irish, 41-16, yesterday before a sellout crowd of 80,795 at Notre Dame Stadium. The victory was historic for Purdue, which hadn't won here in 30 years. This was a three-hour and 52-minute infomercial for Orton, who had the same type of breakthrough performance against the Irish on national TV that USC quarterback Carson Palmer had two years ago, when he -passed for 425 yards and four touchdowns in a 44-13 blowout that locked up his Heisman. After helping Orton set a sta- quarterback Kyle Orton celebrate after leading Boilermakers to first win in South Bend in 30 years.

Purdue coach Joe Tiller 0.) and and Drew Brees all of them NFL starters no one at this Big Ten school has had a better season to date. "He was unstoppable," Notre Dame defensive end Justin Tuck said. "A lot of people say he is the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy. He got my vote." Orton's chief competitors for the prestigious award are- expected to be quarterbacks Matt Leinart of USC and last year's winner Jason White of Oklahoma and running back Cedric Benson of Texas. But the losing QB in Saturday's Texas-Oklaho streit and Lee Corso of ESPN eat their words.

"It provides extra motivation to hear them pick against us and listen to them say about how we can't go into Notre Dame and win," he said. I-urdue travels to Penn I State Saturday for a con- II ference game against a team it never has beaten on the road. Unless Joe Paterno uses the announcement of his retirement as the ultimate motivational tool, expect the Boilermakers to continue wreaking havoc with this powerful air raid. COLLEGE DICK WEISS dium record by catching a 97-yard touchdown pass to give the Boilermakers a 27-3 lead with 11:31 to go in the third quarter, senior wide receiver Taylor Stubblefield couldn't resist doing some impromptu campaigning for his teammate. When TV cameras shifted to Stubblefield celebrating on the sidelines, he playfully jabbed Orton in the chest, as in he's the guy, then struck the Heisman pose.

"I will definitely not be as humble as he is about the whole thing," said Stubblefield, who was hit with an excessive celebration penalty for pointing the No. 1 sign to the sky as he jetted untouched into the end zone. "I was kidding around with them, but anytime you have a quarterback lead his team to a victory in Notre Dame Stadium and he's leading the country in pass efficiency, there is no choice but to say he's the front-runner now." Orton was less willing to brag. "It feels the same now as when you were nobody," said Orton, the small-town kid from Altoona, Iowa, who tried to dismiss Stubblefield's theatrics. "That" Taylor," he said.

"That's his personality. Guys are having fun with it." This has been a fun ride for Orton so far. With all due respect to previous Purdue quarterbacks Len Dawson, Bob Gre-ise, Mike Phipps, Jim Everett ma game could eliminate himself and Leinart could get hurt by the fact teammate Reggie Bush is also having a spectacular season. You can argue Orton is simply the beneficiary of Joe Tiller's sophisticated, pass-oriented West Coast system, which has shaken up the conservative Big Ten. But it would fall on deaf ears, particularly from NFL scouts, who see Orton who has thrown for four or more touchdowns in every game this fall as the real deal.

twice Princeton (3-0) escaped. "If I didn't have a rooting interest in this game, I'd probably say it was one of the best games I'd ever seen," Columbia coach Bob Shoop said. In a game with six lead changes, Columbia (0-3) seemed in great shape after RB Ayo Olu-wole (23 rushes, 94 yards) scored from four yards out with 2:11 to play, capping a 14-play, 90-yard march and lifting the Lions to a 20-17 lead. Notre Dame's biggest problem was that it had no scheme to defend Orton and the five receivers Tiller used to spread the field. "Earlier in the week, one of their guys made the comment that their press coverage was going to be so tight, I wasn't going to be able to breathe," Stubblefield said.

"Anytime a team is going to go man to man which has surprisingly happened the last three weeks we're going to make them pay." Stubblefield was also more than happy to make Kirk Herb- But on fourth-and-6 from his own 37, Princeton quarterback Matt Verbit hit two-way star Jay McCareins, for 14 yards, then found McCareins again for 21 more yards, to the Lions' 24. With five seconds left, Derek Jav-arone drilled a 21-yard field goal to force overtime. Starting on the 25-yard line, Lions senior Rashad Biggers (25 carries, career-high 137 yards, two TDs), rushed three straight times, the last a superb, tackle- Lions' unhappy Homecoming ON HOMECOMING DAY at Wien Stadium, Columbia played a football game yesterday that included 239 rushing yards, zero turnovers and relentless fighting spirit. Regrettably for the crowd of 10,823, it also included two failed extra points, the most basic of plays bringing on the most crushing of defeats a 27-26 overtime loss to Princeton. Twice Princeton was down to a final, fourth-down breath.

And breaking 17-yarder for the score. The jubilation lasted only until placekicker Nick Ruud had his extra point blocked by McCareins, sweeping in from the right side. On their possession from the 25, the Tigers again were down to a final play, a fourth-and-5 from the 20, only to see Verbit scramble for 18 yards, to the 2. Running back Jon Veach plowed in from the 1, and Javarone's extra point was good, and the stadium went silent. Wayne Coffey 3.