[Fan10]

I saw an odd sequence of events in the Alabama/Fla International game last night. Following an Alabama touchdown, UA committed a false start on the extra point. The ball was moved back to the 8 for the retry. Then, on the second attempt, as the kick went through the goal posts, one of the officials under the posts signaled good while the other one came charging out from under the posts into the end zone with no signal. Instead, he was counting players.

As the teams were going off the field, he kept counting, and as he finished, he dropped a flag. Penn Wagers, the referee, then gave the signal for illegal participation against Fla International. At this point, both teams had already reached the sideline. And, Wagers went over to the UA sideline and found Alabama Coach Nick Saban. The two talked for probably a minute after which Wagers turned on the microphone and announced that we would go 1/2the distance to the goal and retry.

Saban then sent his offense onto the field to go for 2 as the umpire marked the ball at the 4 (Remember that the ball had been moved back to the 8 because of UA's false start). At that point, a very upset Saban called timeout and went to Wagers asking why it was being marked at the 4. After a short conversation, Saban then sent the extra point team back onto the field, and the third PAT was good.

Obviously, Saban momentarily forgot that the line of scrimmage was the 8, or he otherwise would have declined. I obviously don't know what was said between Saban and Wagers during the conversation they had about the penalty option. I was curious as to whether Wagers told him that the ball would be marked at the 4 or whether he told him it would be half the distance. And, even if he did tell him 1/2 the distance, it's still Saban's responsibility to know that 1/2 the distance is the 4, not the 1 1/2.

I'm wondering though if it is possible for a coach (or a captain) to retract their decision if it is obvious that they were confused about what exactly they were agreeing to.