West Lafayette, Ind. ? When Kyle Orton arrived at Purdue, his future favorite receiver was already there. It just took awhile for the shy quarterback from Iowa to connect with a skinny, slow wideout named Taylor Stubblefield.

Four years later, they have blossomed into one of the nation’s best pass-and-catch duos.

“It took me six or seven months just to meet Taylor,” Orton said. “He hung out with different people and I was kind of quiet, so I didn’t really hang out with anybody.”

They hooked up on the field for the first time later that season, when Orton threw two touchdown passes to Stubblefield in the 2001 Sun Bowl — and they haven’t slowed down since.

Even by coach Joe Tiller’s high standards, Orton and Stubblefield are putting up gaudy numbers for No. 15 Purdue (3-0). Orton has thrown for 13 touchdowns in the first three games — including eight to Stubblefield, who is closing in on the Big Ten Conference and NCAA records for career receptions.

“They have a feel for one another,” Tiller said. “They’re not attached at the hip, but it appears as though they are.”

They’re an interesting combination. Orton is the rifle-armed golden boy who has NFL scouts taking notes.

Stubblefield is the overachiever. He’s not 6-foot-4. He doesn’t run the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds. All he does is run razor-sharp routes and catch everything thrown his way.

“I don’t have what everybody looks for in a wide receiver,” Stubblefield said. “But there’s only a handful of others in the nation that do.”

Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton drops back to pass against Syracuse. Orton, shown Sept. 5 in West Lafayette, Ind., has thrown for 13 touchdowns in the Boilermakers' first three games, including eight to receiver Taylor Stubblefield.

Stubblefield is nine catches away from breaking former teammate John Standeford’s Big Ten career receptions record and 52 away from breaking the NCAA mark.

Not bad for a player who is listed at 6-1, but is much closer to 5-10. But that’s never bothered him.

“I don’t have the little-man syndrome because I’m not that little,” Stubblefield said.

He’s certainly a big enough target for Orton.

The two have developed a close friendship on and off the field, and the Boilermakers, who play Saturday at Notre Dame, are reaping the benefits.

Orton has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 982 yards, the 13 touchdowns and no interceptions.

More often than not, Stubblefield is on the receiving end. The fifth-year senior has 21 catches for 324 yards, and his eight touchdowns are three more than he had in his first three seasons in West Lafayette.

“Before the snap, they really have an understanding of what each other is going to do,” Tiller said. “That’s always a great advantage for a quarterback. He’s not getting involved in a guessing game because of the coverage.”

That much was illustrated on one play in Purdue’s 38-30 win over Illinois last week.

With the pesky Illini hanging around and threatening to tie the game, Purdue faced a third-and-8 in the fourth quarter. Orton read blitz and started to call an audible.

That was when Stubblefield spoke up. He yelled down the line of scrimmage at his quarterback, strongly suggesting a different play. Orton obliged, and lofted a perfect touch pass to Stubblefield for a 34-yard touchdown and a 15-point lead.

“He wanted to run something different,” Orton said. “I have enough trust in him to say ‘OK, run what you want’ and he ran it and it was a great route and a great play.”

At this rate, both players could be in contention for the Heisman Trophy, but Stubblefield joked the ultra-competitive Orton might not let that happen.

“I think you’ll see my numbers drop off if I start to catch him,” Stubblefield said. “Hopefully we can both be there.”