The Cougars finished 4th in the Missouri Valley Conference in their first season and earned a trip to their first bowl game.
With :10 remaining in the first quarter, Gene Shannon rushed for a touchdown to narrow the lead to 1.
After halftime, the Cougars limited the Flyers to five rushing yards in the second half while forcing three turnovers.
Less than two minutes later, Shannon's 10-yard run with 7:50 in the third proved to be the go-ahead touchdown as the two teams failed to score in the fourth quarter, giving Houston their first bowl win.
[2] The Cougars wound up winning the conference the next year, finishing at #19 in the polls, though they would not play another bowl game until 1962.