KANSAS Mangino: 'I regret my remarks'
The Kansas coach suggested that officials acted improperly in the game.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- Kansas coach Mark Mangino would like to take it all back.
The question he faces now, however, is how forgiving the Big 12 Conference will be toward a coach who suggested that officials deliberately tried to influence the outcome of a game.
"I regret my remarks," Mangino told The Associated Press on Sunday. "I said them after an emotional loss, and I want to make it perfectly clear that I'm not implying that any official or anybody is trying to determine the outcome of a game."
But that is exactly what Mangino suggested Saturday, after an offensive pass interference penalty against Charles Gordon forced the Jayhawks to punt in the final two minutes.
As a result, No. 6 Texas rallied, and Vince Young threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Tony Jeffery with 11 seconds remaining, dealing the Jayhawks a bitter 27-23 loss.
Referred to BCS
"You know what this is all about, don't you? BCS. That's what made a difference today in the game," Mangino, a Youngstown State graduate and New Castle, Pa., native, said in his post-game news conference.
Texas, with only one loss, could possibly be headed for a BCS bowl that would bring a financial windfall of around $12 to $14 million into the conference.
"That's what made the difference in a call in front of their bench. Dollar signs," Mangino said after the game.
The Jayhawks were leading 23-20 after Young's 18-yard TD run and faced a third-and-7 from their own 26. Quarterback Brian Luke found Gordon for a 16-yard gain that would have given Kansas a first down.
But officials called Gordon for offensive pass interference, making it third and 20. Kansas had to punt out of its own end zone, and the Longhorns got the ball on the Kansas 47 with 1:53 remaining.
A 'swim move'
Mangino said after the game that Gordon was called for making a "swim move" that high school, college and NFL coaches teach their wide receivers.
"All of America sat at home and watched the play," Mangino said. "All college football fans who watched the game, we'll let them be the judge about that call."
Mangino also said at the time that he was not worried about a fine, which could be as high as $10,000. But on Sunday, the third-year head coach said he was simply speaking in the heat of the moment.
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