Washington State's fortunes have ebbed and flowed this year. The Cougars started 4-1, lost three in a row, won three in a row, and closed their regular season with a 51-33 loss to Washington in the Apple Cup.
Appropriately, it was this unpredictable Washington State team that provided the biggest blooper of the young 2022 bowl season.
With a little over 11 minutes left in the second quarter and the Cougars trailing Fresno State 14-0 in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl, quarterback Cameron Ward dropped back into his own end zone to pass. Pressured by the Bulldogs, Ward stepped out of bounds for a safety to extend Fresno State's lead to 16-0.
It was an inauspicious moment for Ward, who threw 23 touchdowns against eight interceptions in a solid first season in Pullman.
The safety drew instant comparison to one of the most infamous safeties in NFL history. On Oct. 12, 2008, Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky dropped back to pass against the Vikings and similarly ran out of the back of the end zone. It has become an emblematic image of Detroit's 0-16 season, the Lions franchise, and Orlovksy's career — as well as a handy comparison point for every unfortunate sojourn out of the back of the end zone taken by quarterbacks since.
