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Coming off their first intercollegiate win against Tennessee, NC A&M played UNC's scrub team again on Friday, November 17th. A little over a month before, A&M's team had played UNC's second team at Chapel Hill and were blanked 22 to nothing in a game called short of the regulation time. This time, however, things would be different. "Both teams are in fine condition," wrote one report, predicting a close game. "The Agricultural and Mechanical College is making considerable progress in athletics and, considering the weight, the team is a good one" (News-Observer-Chronicle, November 16th, 1893, p. 1). Also a notable difference in the coming game was that it would be played in Raleigh this time, rather than at UNC's home field. This was likely a matter of some convenience for UNC, as their "first" team was playing Wake Forest in Raleigh the day after the scrub game (The Wilmington Messenger, November 19th, 1893, p. 1).

A&M's team won the toss, with then-captain Pritchard electing to keep the ball. A&M's first play of the game was in the flying V formation, but that play resulted in a fumble, giving the ball to the Chapel Hillians. Fortunately, A&M's defense proved stout, and A&M soon had possession of the ball again after a turnover on just 4 UNC downs. A&M's Hughes then kicked the ball, and in a few plays, UNC had scored, capping the drive with a five yard run by Dockery and a goal kicked by Denson.

NC A&M had managed to keep the UNC team from scoring until the twelfth minute of play, making it three times longer than in their first meeting. Following this, A&M's team put together an impressive run, advancing the ball to within six inches of Carolina's goal line. However, at this point, "the 'Varsity boys make a beautiful brace," and the ball is lost on downs. Luckily, A&M's defense continued to pressure Carolina's. UNC's Webb passed the ball to his fullback to kick the ball out of danger, but fortunately for the Farmers, Vick blocked the ball and Pritchard landed on the ball in UNC's endzone. Hughes missed the kick for A&M, but the score now stood 6-4. No other scoring happened for the remainder of the half, and the only play of note was "a beautiful tackle by McRae [sic]."

The second half started with an injury to UNC's McKinne, who was replaced by Weaver. Weaver soon thereafter was hurt and replaced himself by Falls. Following that, A&M advanced the ball up the field and there was "a succession of kicks by Hughs [sic] and fumbles and muffs by Webb F. B." Near the end of the half, A&M had the ball "about a yard" from UNC's goal, but UNC was able to "take the ball again." UNC's fullback, Webb, then carried the ball for about a twelve yard gain, but fumbled the ball. Whitaker scored A&M's second touchdown of the day, with Hughes again missing the kick. No more points were scored for the remainder of the game, and A&M won 8-6 (The Tar Heel, November 23rd, 1893, p. 3). A&M's team was described as "highly elated," and it was noted that they "returned from the gronds with the usual yell" (The Daily Evening Visitor, November 18th, 1893, p. 1). UNC's newspaper concluded that "Mr. Busbee's team has improv[ed] wonderfully."

Other than A&M's potential improvement over the course of the season, there is a second potential explanation for the turnaround in scoring from the Farmers losing 22-to-nothing to defeating the UNC scrubs by 2. The Tar Heel's main team suffered "unceasing injuries" during the 1893 season; logically, if the Varsity team lost enough players, eventually scrub players would have to be drawn in to take the injured starters' places (Barrier, p. 24).

The game was umpired by Charles Baskerville and refereed by Perrin Busbee. Baskerville was formerly a student at UNC, having graduated with a Bachelors of Science in 1892. For the 1892-1894 season Baskerville spent his free time as a fullback on the UNC football team, as well as the team manager. Baskerville would eventually go on to become a prominent professor of chemistry at UNC, working as a professor and chair of the chemistry department there until 1904 (Bennett Steelman).

The two UNC men injured in the game, McKinne and Weaver, were members of the Varsity team, but their absence had little impact on the outcome of the UNC-Wake Forest game, with UNC smashing the Baptists 40-0. One of their injuries, however, proved quite significant. Though anti-football sentiment had been strong in many other states at the time, it had not yet reached high levels in the Carolinas. After the Wake Forest-UNC game of November 18th, though, a long anti-football writeup in The Progressive Farmer appeared, entitled "Brutal College Sports." It was by no means the first anti-football writeup in the state; that honor belongs to a number of editorials in Christian papers, brief local outcries following an injury, and short quips in the "exchange" sections of papers joking at the brutality of the game. However, following that game, public opinion in North Carolina began to sway strongly against football. The paper ranted that "these games are not all in keeping with our civilization" and that "more men are killed and wounded in this game than were during the civil war in proportion to numbers." It went on to rave that even "Residents of 'Darkest Africa' would be horrified were they to witness some games of football." Though the paper does not specify which of the injured players it describes, it says that one of them "was knocked insensible, and had to be carried home. For hours afterward he could not remember anything for two minutes." In the end though, "he got over it, but it was a narrow escape." The paper concluded its editorial by tying in the dangers of gambling, another frequent negative aspect brought up about football at the time (The Progressive Farmer, November 21st, 1893, p. 2).

As a response to the growing anti-football sentiment of the state, the Turlington Institute's literary societies issued a challenge in declamation and debate to the Oak Ridge Institute. The Turlington Institute was a noted private preparatory school located in Smithfield, NC, which was first opened by Ira T. Turlington in 1887 as a boarding school, converted from a former teachers' institute. By 1898, Turlington Institute grew to hold "five courses of study" in a "healthful, cultivated, moral community." Turlington Institute became Turlington Graded School in 1904 and later Smithfield High School (Francis P. Woodard; William S. Powell; Smithfield Herald, July 1st, 1886, p. 3; News-Observer-Chronicle, June 12th, 1895, p. 4; Smithfield Herald, September 9th, 1898, p. 2). The contest was to be held with the express goal of "diverting the attention of the public from the match games of foot-ball... and to show that brain as well as brawn is being trained." The match was scheduled for February 22nd, 1894 at NC A&M's campus, but appears to have never actually happened (Smithfield Herald, December 21st, 1893, p. 2).