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Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti speaks with linebacker Boseko Lokombo during a 2012 game.

(Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian)

EUGENE -- After calling Washington State head coach Mike Leach "low class" Saturday evening after the Cougars threw 89 times in their loss to No. 2 Oregon, Ducks defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti on Sunday evening apologized for his comments, saying: "The bottom line is, I'm sorry."

The comments were released by the university. Halliday's 89 attempts set an NCAA record.

“I'm embarrassed that I got caught up in the moment after the game," Aliotti said in the release. "There's no excuse, but sometimes right after the game the adrenaline is still flowing and I made a huge, human error in judgment. I wish I could take it back, and I promise it won't happen again.

“I'd like to apologize to Mike Leach and Bill Moos (Washington State athletics director), Washington State and its fans, and Oregon and our fans.”

After Oregon's 62-38 victory against Washington State on Saturday night, Aliotti ripped into the "Air Raid" offense's creator for still throwing with first-string quarterback Connor Halliday despite the game being out of hand and UO having its backups in on defense.

“That’s total (B.S.) that he threw the ball at the end of the game like he did,’’ Aliotti said Saturday. “And you can print that and you can send it to him, and he can comment, too. I think it’s low class and it’s (B.S.) to throw the ball when the game is completely over against our kids that are basically our scout team.

“Make sure he knows that,’’ Aliotti added. “Because I don’t really care.’’

Oregon coach Mark Helfrich, during his Sunday evening conference call with reporters, said that he'd spoken with Aliotti about his comments earlier in the day.

"First of all we have a lot of respect and (Aliotti) has a lot of respect for for coach Leach and Bill Moos for Washington State and I think the content and the manner of his comments were not representative of him or our program," Helfrich said. "I know he's remorseful and more of less caught in the moment of defending our players. We'll all learn from that and move on."