After USC's 39-36 victory over Washington State on Sept. 21, Cougars coach Mike Leach declined to comment on the uncalled helmet-to-helmet targeting hit on Leach's quarterback Gardner Minshew by Trojans linebacker Porter Gustin.

Instead, the outspoken coach, who has been fined for publicly criticizing officiating in the past, pointed reporters to Woodie Dixon, the chief counsel for the Pac-12 Conference.

Yahoo! Sports' Pete Thamel reported Saturday that Leach didn't stop there. Thanks to a public-records request made to Washington State, Yahoo! "obtained a trove of text messages from Leach to Pac-12 executives in the wake of that hit." Among them are criticisms of Dixon, who he says is "afraid of USC," the Pac-12's commitment to player safety and even fair play -- at one point, Leach is shown to wonder aloud whether the conference is "trying to manipulate wins and losses."

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."

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."

In a text that same week to Dixon ... 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?"

Leach is a noted conspiracy theorist, Yahoo! notes, but some of his frustrations may have had merit, as Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott has since admitted that Dixon, who is not a formally trained official, called into the replay booth during Washington State's game against USC to overrule another targeting call.

Now preparing No. 25 Washington State for its first appearance on ESPN's "College GameDay" thanks to a matchup with No. 12 Oregon, Leach declined to comment further, according to Thamel, as did Washington State athletic director Patrick Chun. The Pac-12 Conference has responded, however, saying it has yet to receive any formal allegations from a coach.

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.