[4] The matchup of VPI and Cincinnati was out of character for the Sun Bowl, which traditionally matched the champion of the Border Conference with the best possible opponent.
[5] Hardin–Simmons University, champions of the Border Conference, declined a Sun Bowl bid, as did the second-place team, Texas Tech.
12 NC State Wolfpack for the first win over an Associated Press Top 25 team in school history,[7] the Washington and Lee University Generals, and VPI's traditional rivals, the Virginia Military Institute Keydets.
[12] Three inches of snow fell on top of a layer of frozen rain the day before the game, and at kickoff the teams took the field under cloudy skies and in below-freezing temperatures.
On Cincinnati's first play of the half, halfback Roger Stephens broke through the defensive line for 26 yards, taking the ball inside VPI territory.
[13] On its next possession, Cincinnati's All-American Roger Stephens again broke off another long run, this time for 19 yards, setting up another Bearcats' touchdown.
[1] VPI countered with a long drive that reached the Cincinnati 23-yard line before an errant pass was intercepted by the Bearcats in the end zone.
Cincinnati sealed its victory, however, when Bearcats halfback Harold Johnson intercepted a pass late in the fourth quarter, returning it all the way to the VPI 25-yard line.
[17] Prior to 1954, the Sun Bowl did not award most valuable player honors,[18] but Harold Johnson from Cincinnati intercepted two passes (one in the end zone) and scoring the first touchdown of the game on a 13-yard run.