at Purdue, Orton was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. In 2004, Orton was the preseason third-team All-American quarterback, behind USC's Matt Leinart and Oklahoma's Jason White as well as a Heisman Trophy hopeful early in the season. After starting the season 5-0 the Boilermakers lost 4 straight close games. During that stretch Orton suffered injuries against Michigan and Northwestern. Brandon Kirsch took over for Orton in the 3rd quarter against Northwestern and Orton subsequently missed the game the following week against Iowa. Orton was able to return to the field in the 4th quarter against Ohio State to help the Boilermakers get the go ahead TD to overcome the Buckeyes and snap their losing streak. The following week the Boilermaker's defeated their rival, Indiana Hoosiers, 63-24. During that game Orton tied former Purdue quarterback Drew Brees' record for number of passing yards in a game (522). That record stood until 2018 when David Blough threw for 572 yards in a game against University of Missouri. Orton makes a cameo in NCAA Football 2006, where he says, "EA Sports, it's in the game", along with Derek Anderson in the game's introduction. Statistics Professional career Chicago Bears 2005 Orton was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. In the 2005 NFL season, he was rushed into the Bears starting lineup as a rookie after a preseason injury to starter Rex Grossman, and the poor play of back-up Chad Hutchinson. Orton started 15 games of the season, but was replaced by Grossman after halftime during the Bears' Week 15 victory against the Atlanta Falcons. After sitting for Week 16, Orton started the regular season finale, Week 17, against the Minnesota Vikings. The outcome of this game, for the Chicago Bears, did not have any effect on their post-season hopes. The Bears had already clinched the NFC North championship and a first-round bye in the 2005–06 playoffs with their Week 16 victory over the Green Bay Packers. Grossman then started for the Bears in their only post-season game. They lost to the Carolina Panthers. Overall, the Bears had a record of 10–5 in games that Orton started, including an eight-game winning streak after a 1–3 start. Despite the team's success, Orton finished with the lowest quarterback rating in the NFL (59.7) among all "qualified" quarterbacks (those with 224+ pass attempts). Despite the low rating,