On Sept. 21, Washington State lost at USC on a Friday night after one of the most controversial no-calls of the college football season.

At the time, Washington State coach Mike Leach declined comment on the obvious helmet-to-helmet targeting hit by USC’s Porter Gustin on Washington State quarterback Gardner Minshew. He told reporters to call Pac-12 executive Woodie Dixon, who runs football in the league, about the controversial no-call.

Yahoo Sports obtained a trove of text messages from Leach to Pac-12 executives in the wake of that hit, via a public-records request to the school. Leach’s texts include doubts about the Pac-12’s commitment to player safety and insinuations of favoritism in the league office toward other programs. In totality, they underscore a lack of trust in the Pac-12 to officiate games correctly. Last week, the Pac-12 overhauled its replay protocols after a Yahoo Sports report that Dixon, who is not a trained official, telephoned in and overruled replay officials on a different targeting call under review in the same game.

Leach, in a text to Pac-12 vice president of officiating David Coleman, wrote on Sept. 25 about the targeting no-call against USC: “Woodie is a total coward and is afraid of USC. I look forward to telling him in person.”

In texts to Dixon and Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott, Leach blasts the league for not backing up its public posturing about commitment to player safety. Leach wrote to Dixon in the wake of the Gustin hit: “Don’t ever waste my time, making me sit through some sanctimonious speech or demonstration on player safety or targeting if you are going to continue to alibi what happened last Friday.”

Leach also said in a text message to Scott: “The Pac-12 cannot say with any credibility, that they are actually trying to protect student athletes.”

In a text that same week to Dixon, who is the Pac-12 general counsel and senior vice president of business affairs, Leach referenced a controversial game with Stanford from 2015. He accused Dixon of calling Washington State staff in the press box during that game and making them turn down the band noise because they were “playing too loud.” Leach then wrote: “Why can’t I help wondering, if you’re trying to manipulate wins and losses?”

Dixon responded: “Mike don’t ever again accuse [me of] of manipulating wins and losses. Please show this text to your AD and have him give me a call.”

Leach wrote back: “I didn’t accuse you of anything. I suggest that you get on sorting out those rules that I pointed out. After all, that is your job.” (A text message from Dixon to Washington State athletic director Patrick Chun, obtained by Yahoo, said that he’d received a “disturbing” text from Leach. But there’s no further conversation about it.)

The Pac-12 responded with a statement late Friday from Andrew Walker, the head of communications: “While we do not comment on private communications with coaches, if there is ever a serious allegation of any kind from a coach we follow up and discuss the matter with the relevant university athletic department and provide them with an opportunity to request an inquiry into the matter. No such request has been received from Washington State University.”

Both Leach and Chun declined comment when reached late Friday.

Leach has shown an affinity for conspiracy theories over the years, including tweeting a political hoax on Father’s Day which led to heavy criticism.

The text messages, obtained by Yahoo Sports on Friday night, come as Washington State is on the cusp of one of the biggest games in school history. The No. 25 Cougars host No. 12 Oregon on Saturday afternoon, with the whole region amped up for the first-ever appearance by ESPN’s “College GameDay” at Washington State.

Washington State enters the game with just one loss, which came in that controversial USC game. Leach references how the missed targeting call on Gustin may have cost Washington State an opportunity to win the game, as they’d have had the ball in the waning minutes on the USC 10-yard line if targeting had been called. They ended up getting a 38-yard field goal blocked and losing, 39-36.

Porter Gustin missed the 1st half tonight due to targeting in the last game… and now he's doing this?? pic.twitter.com/RMym4s5rZA — CFB Gif'er (@CFBgifer) September 22, 2018

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