Gibbs announced his resignation in November but chose to coach through the bowl game. Walsh may have made him wish he didn't stick around.
He threw a 43-yard completion on the first play of the game Thursday night and didn't slow down. He wound up 31 of 45, setting a Copper Bowl record for completions and coming up just 22 short of the bowl's record for passing yards, set two years ago by Drew Bledsoe of Washington State.
The Cougars finished the year 10-3, their ninth 10-victory season in 23 years under coach Lavell Edwards. Oklahoma (6-6) saw its string of consecutive winning seasons end at 28.
Gibbs concluded his six years as head coach with a record of 44-23-2. He is being replaced by Howard Schnellenberger, who watched the game from a private box.
Brigham Young dominated from the start, controlling the clock with its passing game while Oklahoma struggled with quarterback Terence Brown. The sophomore played in place of Garrick McGee, who is recovering from illness, and the offense never got much going -- the Sooners didn't cross midfield until the final minute of the third quarter.
Walsh threw two touchdowns apiece to Bryce Doman and Mike Johnston. The junior quarterback mixed things up beautifully, throwing to eight receivers, and hurt Oklahoma time and again by converting long-yardage plays into first downs.
Walsh completed 10 of his first 11 passes, and the only incomplete pass was a drop. He went through a stretch in the second quarter where he missed on four straight, but he made up for it with three big completions on the Cougars' second touchdown drive.
Brigham Young set the tone for the night by scoring a touchdown on its first possession, driving 77 yards in nine plays, the final seven coming on a touchdown pass to Doman.
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