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Todd Graham confronts Mike Leach for sign-stealing accusations (Video)

Things were a bit more cordial between Mike Leach and Todd Graham back in 2014, when this photo was taken. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Things were a bit more cordial between Mike Leach and Todd Graham back in 2014, when this photo was taken. (AP)

In the days leading up to Saturday night’s Washington State-Arizona State game, WSU coach Mike Leach accused ASU coach Todd Graham of stealing signs.

This is the second straight year Leach brought it up, and Leach was fined by the Pac-12 for his comments on Friday.

After Washington State held off ASU 37-32 at Sun Devil Stadium, the two coaches met at midfield for a customary postgame handshake. Only this wasn’t the usual handshake. Graham let Leach know he didn’t appreciate the accusations.

Watch this (warning: expletives used):

When you read Leach’s comments, you can certainly understand Graham’s sentiment.

“I think they still steal signs,” Leach said Monday. “We’ll have to keep an eye on it. That’s certainly the reputation. And I think they have a certain amount of technology and expertise on the subject which if they ever go to a different conference or something I’d certainly like them to share it with us.

“But yeah, you’ve got to keep an eye on it because they’ll steal signs and they’re pretty clever about it. And it’s like breaking the enigma code with them … I think they ought to do a full-on investigation to see how they’re doing it and make sure it’s within the rules.”

When Leach brought up sign-stealing last year, Graham admitted that his team does it while noting that others do too. This is nothing new, but Graham felt Leach (who mentioned he heard “rumors” of on-field microphones and the use of cameras) was questioning the integrity of his program.

The Pac-12 fined Leach $10,000 and gave him a public reprimand for his comments.

“Conference rules prohibit Pac-12 member institutions from disparaging each other and discrediting other institutions,” Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement.

In the postgame news conference, Leach made sure he didn’t say anything else that would get him fined.

On the field, Graham looked like he may get the best of Leach on Saturday. ASU jumped out to a 14-3 second-quarter lead, but the Cougars stormed back to take a 17-14 halftime lead.

WSU’s lead was 37-21 early in the fourth quarter, but the Sun Devils cut it to 37-32 with 4:36 to go. However, Leach’s Cougars held off the ASU comeback effort to improve to 4-0 in Pac-12 play. In addition to the undefeated conference record, Washington State is 5-2 overall.

Arizona State dropped to 5-3 (2-3 Pac-12) with the loss.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!