Former Buckeye, Raider Tatum dies

Football Betting Lines

07/27/2010 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hard-hitting linebacker/safety Jack Tatum has passed away at the age of 61 after suffering a heart attack on Tuesday.

Nicknamed "The Assassin," Tatum played for Ohio State from 1968-70 and for the Oakland Raiders from 1971-79 before finishing his professional career with the Houston Oilers in 1980.

"We have lost one of our greatest Buckeyes," said current OSU head coach Jim Tressel. "When you think of Ohio State defense, the first name that comes to mind is Jack Tatum. His loss touches every era of Ohio State players and fans."

Originally slated to be a running back for the Buckeyes, Tatum was moved to the defense and helped Ohio State go 27-2 with a national championship and two conference titles in his tenure at the school. He was a two-time All-American and the national defensive player of the year as a senior.

Tatum was a first-round pick by Oakland in the 1971 NFL Draft and was a three- time Pro Bowl free safety and a Super Bowl champion in 1976. In 10 seasons, he recorded 37 interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries.

He was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1981 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.