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NC A&M and UNC opened their 1894 football seasons against each other on Friday, October 12th. The two teams were also originally scheduled to play again on the same field the following day, but it was decided "at the last moment" that the teams should only play the one game (Evening Visitor, October 8th, 1894, p. 1).

With this being both teams' first game of the year, the expectations were somewhat varied, especially due to the turnover on UNC's team: The Chapel Hill team was "crippled" by the loss of every player from the former year's team except for one. Tar Heel historians would later write that the team started with "the poorest of prospects," but under the watchful eye of first-year coach Vernon Irvine, the team was turned around. UNC's team did keep a number of their former players as coaches (The Tar Heel, September 20th, 1894, p. 4; Barrier, p. 24).

UNC was looking forward to the game despite some rain earlier in the week hindering their practice, saying it would "have great influence in determining who will fill the positions" (The Tar Heel, October 11th, 1894, p. 2). Their student newspaper went on to write "a very great deal [of work] remains to be done" and complained that "Every one is miserably slow in starting." The article went on to criticize the team for their "lack of a leader," but hoped that the recent election of one would turn their team around. The tone of the article was so dreary that even the most die-hard UNC fan would come away thinking the team would be lucky to score a single point in the coming season.

UNC's team was captained by Charles Baskerville, who was the Tar Heels' third choice of captain. Their first was G. R. Little, who was captain for the 1893 season; unfortunately for the Tar Heels, Little did not return to the team in 1894. Their second choice was J. C. Biggs, who was unable to return. Finally, Baskerville was chosen to lead the team. UNC's team averaged 158 pounds. Despite the challenges the Tar Heels faced on retaining football talent, their team was immensely popular; so many students would crowd the practice fields at Chapel Hill's campus that Coach Irvine would force all students who weren't a part of the football team--including the class teams--to leave the field at 5:40 each day so the team could practice "in secret," and, more importantly, so the Tar Heels could have room to practice (Barrier, p. 24).

A&M's team left for Chapel Hill on October 11th, the day before the game, with 15 men (Evening Visitory, October 11th, 1894, p. 1). Some keen readers may have noticed that October 12th happens to be the exact same date NC A&M played their first intercollegiate game last year against UNC's scrub team; the reason for this is because October 12th is University Day at UNC, the day the cornerstone of the oldest building on Chapel Hill's campus was laid (and coincidentally the birthday of then-president Dr. Winston), and a holiday for the entire school. The weather the day of the game was described as "all that could be desired."

UNC started with the ball and kicked it 20 yards to A&M's Graham, who fumbled but quickly recovered the ball. After a few more attempts, UNC attempted a field goal but failed. Upon getting the ball, the Farmers made no progress of their own and kicked the ball back to UNC. UNC then scored on their following drive, with Moore scoring the touchdown and Graham missing the kick for the goal. The score sat 4-0 for UNC after six minutes of play.

After being scored upon, A&M kicked off the ball. UNC's drive, sparked by a 30-yard run by Baskerville, resulted again in a touchdown, with the plunge this time taken by Denson after a slow, steady drive composed primarily of small-gain plays. Graham successfully kicked the goal this time, making the score 10-0 just 11 minutes and 15 seconds into the game.

The Farmers again kicked off the ball, and again the White and Blue got to work moving the ball down the field, with Denson breaking off 34- and 21-yard runs, along with a smattering of shorter gains. For the point after attempt, Baskerville performed a kick-out maneuver which was caught by Slocumb, allowing Graham to kicked an easy goal, making the score 16-0 after 15:30 of play.

In the following drive, A&M would go on to catch their first break of the day after UNC fumbled the ball and Vick recovered it. A&M then executed "two very finely carried out tricks" to advance the ball 17 yards; after that, however, A&M's luck ran out, with the half expiring just after they kicked the ball away again. After 20 minutes of football the score stood 16-0 for UNC.

The second half only gets worse for A&M. After starting with the ball, A&M was quickly forced to kick. Denson then ran the ball 38 yards for a touchdown. Graham successfully kicked his goal, making the score 22-0.

A&M then kicked off again, but, for the first time in several drives, managed to prevent UNC from scoring and got the ball on a change of downs. Unfortunately, A&M immediately fumbled the ball, with Pugh for UNC recovering the ball. Graham scored a touchdown on a 38-yard run but missed the goal, making the score 26-0, capping off a 3:35 drive.

The Farmers kicked the ball off to UNC yet again, and 6 minutes later, Denson scored a touchdown and Graham kicked the goal, making the score 32-0. In the following drive, two UNC players, Slocumb and Graham, were injured. Slocumb "grittily plays on," but Graham, upon twisting his knee, was "obliged to leave," being replaced by Stanly. Despite the loss of one of their best players, UNC managed to score in just 4 minutes and 30 seconds, with Pugh scoring the goal and Baskerville kicking the goal, resulting in a 38-0 score.

The final two drives of UNC were summarized by The Tar Heel in under three sentences, with one touchdown coming in just three minutes and time expiring with the ball in A&M territory. The final score of the game stood 44-0, with the Farmers executing just five drives the entire game, two of which resulted in fumbles.

The game was refereed by Mr. Tom Alexander of NC A&M, and was umpired by Mr. Stephens, of UNC; the linesman was Prof. Ball, of UNC. Despite the destruction of A&M's team, it was reported that "There was no unpleasantness of any kind during the game." The article went on to praise A&M's team for the work they had accomplished, as "The A. & M. men have not had the practice, nor the advantage of a coach." The article concluded by saying "We hope to meet our A. & M. friends again when they are in better trim" (The Tar Heel, October 18th, 1894, p. 1). Another paper quipped "While the A. and M. have some good men in their team, yet they have not enough" (News and Observer, October 14th, 1894, p. 2). Another paper wrote that "The A. & M. team is a very good one for a small college, and plays well" (Goldsboro Daily Argus, October 16th, 1894, p. 1).

The game was watched with interest by a number of Trinity students alongside the Chapel Hill rooters and Raleigh supporters. It was also noted that Trinity students watched the two teams' matchup the following week in Raleigh. Notably, Trinity would play only two games in 1894, with one against A&M and the other against UNC (Daily Tar Heel, October 18th, 1894, p. 3).