I seem to recall seeing a team on TV contemplating kicking off after being scored upon. Only a few seconds were left in the game and an onside kick was expected, so the team scored upon thought about kicking long and defending a long field rather than possibly not recovering the onside kick. I think it was Oklahoma-Nebraska in the 1980s. Ultimately, they opted to receive. But the announcers went crazy seeing the wrong team start to line up to kick. I can't find any confirmation of this, but this is how I learned about this rule. I wish they hadn't removed it from the rule book.
I did not find the exact situation you described, but found a 1986 Oklahoma-UCLA game when UCLA won the toss and deferred. The ref then mistakenly asked Oklahoma's Spencer Tillman which goal he wanted to defend rather than whether he wanted to kick or receive. Although it was due to the ref's error, UCLA received the kickoff both halves.
It might have been 1985 Nebraska-Oklahoma. Not a close game, but Nebraska scored on a fumble return with 26 seconds left. The only video I found skipped any commentary prior to the onside kick. Frank Broyles did the game. He knew the rules better than anyone. That's my best guess as to how I learned about the option to kick off.
I will look into that game. It would be fun to describe the situation in detail in a Tidbit.
I seem to recall seeing a team on TV contemplating kicking off after being scored upon. Only a few seconds were left in the game and an onside kick was expected, so the team scored upon thought about kicking long and defending a long field rather than possibly not recovering the onside kick. I think it was Oklahoma-Nebraska in the 1980s. Ultimately, they opted to receive. But the announcers went crazy seeing the wrong team start to line up to kick. I can't find any confirmation of this, but this is how I learned about this rule. I wish they hadn't removed it from the rule book.
I did not find the exact situation you described, but found a 1986 Oklahoma-UCLA game when UCLA won the toss and deferred. The ref then mistakenly asked Oklahoma's Spencer Tillman which goal he wanted to defend rather than whether he wanted to kick or receive. Although it was due to the ref's error, UCLA received the kickoff both halves.
It might have been 1985 Nebraska-Oklahoma. Not a close game, but Nebraska scored on a fumble return with 26 seconds left. The only video I found skipped any commentary prior to the onside kick. Frank Broyles did the game. He knew the rules better than anyone. That's my best guess as to how I learned about the option to kick off.