A few hours after Orton and Fitzpatrick finish being teammates in today's East-West Shrine Game, Fitzpatrick will take a three-hour test in his hotel room for a class called Econ 1813: "The Indebted Society." After a brief stop back home in Arizona, where he'll take yet another test, he's off to Maui for next week's Hula Bowl.

It's hardly the ideal way to prepare for perhaps the biggest afternoon of his athletic life, but Fitzpatrick wants to remain a student-athlete for at least a little bit longer.

"This is a huge week for me," Fitzpatrick said. "Everything I do this week and in the Shrine Game is going to have a big impact on whether I'm drafted. I'm just trying not to waste any time or let any opportunity slip past me. It's tougher with school, but I don't think you go to Harvard not to graduate."

Though nobody else must contend with a Harvard final, dozens of college stars feel similar pressures in the week leading up to the 80th edition of the Shrine Game at SBC Park, otherwise known as the home of the San Francisco Giants.

Orton is determined to erase the memories of his disappointing senior season at Purdue, where he was a Heisman Trophy favorite before a hip injury contributed to his sub-par play during the Boilermakers' slide out of the national title picture. Shortly after Purdue's loss in the Sun Bowl, he left West Lafayette to move to Orange County for the four months before the draft.

"It's a full-time job now," Orton said. "I just want to be as successful at this as I can. It's great to play in this game, because Coach Tiller is here with me. That's why I agreed to be here."

The Shrine Game is particularly loaded with quarterback talent this season. Orton and Fitzpatrick are joined on the East team by Louisville's Stefan LeFors, who had the highest single-season passer rating in NCAA history. On the West squad, NCAA career passing yardage leader Tim Chang of Hawai'i joins Oregon State's Derek Anderson. UH slotback Chad Owens, Utah lineman Chris Kemoeatu (Kahuku High) and BYU safety Aaron Francisco (Kahuku) also will play in the game.

Orton and receiver Taylor Stubblefield should be right at home in the Shrine Game, with coach Joe Tiller calling the plays for his star Purdue tandem.

Organizers expect more than 200 scouts in the stands for the game, but most already got a lengthy look at the prospects during the week of practices.

When both squads worked out simultaneously Wednesday at City College of San Francisco, the entire perimeter of the field was ringed by perhaps 200 people — from NFL assistant coaches and scouts, obvious in their bright-colored team jackets, to the agents and managers.

"There's a lot of nervous guys out here on the field," said California defensive end Ryan Riddle. "This is a big week in everybody's life, and there's always eyes on you, everything you do."

Nobody knows that as well as Fitzpatrick, the Ivy League's player of the year and the only representative from that prestigious academic conference in the Shrine Game. While most of his teammates were out enjoying the San Francisco sights, he was cramming for his test.