a chance to win at least a share of the national championship in the Rose Bowl, but lost to USC by one point. In his four years as a Buckeye, 1978 through 1981, Schlichter tallied 7,547 passing yards and 50 touchdown passes, with 46 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,303 yards and 35 touchdowns. At the time, he was Ohio State's all-time leader in total offense. In 1981, sports writer Ritter Collett published a biography of Schlichter, Straight Arrow. During his college career, Schlichter was frequently spotted at Scioto Downs with a prominent Ohio gambler. Although the Columbus and OSU police departments became suspicious, the athletic department felt it lacked enough evidence to go to the NCAA about the matter. He turned his attention from horses to games by his junior year at Ohio State; by the end of that year he had lost thousands of dollars gambling on college and professional sports. On several occasions he was seen at the track with Hayes' successor as head coach, Earle Bruce, a fact which helped cover up early problems emerging while Schlichter was at Ohio State. Professional career Schlichter was picked fourth in the 1982 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts (who moved to Indianapolis two years later). Expected to be the starter, he lost the job to Mike Pagel, the Colts' fourth-round pick in that year. However, he was expected to be the Colts' quarterback of the future. His gambling continued unabated and he blew his entire $350,000 signing bonus by midseason. Even before the Colts picked him, he already owed bookies several thousand dollars. His gambling spiraled out of control during the 1982 NFL strike, when he lost $20,000 betting on college football. By the end of the strike, he had at least $700,000 in gambling debts. Years later, he said his massive losses stemmed from desperate efforts to make good his previous losses. After losing $20,000 in the first week of the strike, he doubled up the next week and lost again—starting a cycle that would continue for over a year. In the winter of 1982 and the spring of 1983, Schlichter lost $489,000 betting on basketball games and his bookies threatened to expose him if he did not pay up (the NFL forbids its players from engaging in any kind of gambling activity, legal or otherwise). Schlichter went to the FBI in March 1983 and his testimony