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The Tar Heels would again be the strongest football team in the state by a large margin. Scores of applicants tried out for UNC's team, and enough men were furnished that the White and Blue had practicing first and second teams by late September when many teams were still in the process of organizing. Despite UNC's recent history of in-state domination, they still lagged behind their neighbors to the North. In 1897, all three of UNC's losses came against teams to the North, with a 0-4 loss to Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech), a 0-31 drubbing at the hands of Vanderbilt, and perhaps most vexingly, a 0-12 loss to Virginia on Thanksgiving day. UNC had been playing and losing to the Cavaliers since 1892, and by 1898 "The South's Oldest Rivalry" had become the focal point of the Tar Heel football season. Having lost six of the last seven matches between the two teams, Carolina's student newspaper wrote "Never before has such interest been taken it [sic] the team as this year. We know that our prospects for a winning team are good.... Our annual defeat on Thanksgiving Day at the hands of Virginia has become monotonous and we are determined this year to break Virginia's succession of victories and win the Championship of the South" (The Tar Heel, September 27th, 1898, p. 1).

Prior to their game against A&M, the White and Blue had played only one game in the 1898 season; an 18-0 win against Guilford on October 1st. Though the Quakers held the Tar Heels scoreless through the first half, the Tar Heel opined that "The score does not indicate the strength of our team by any means since so many of our regular players were disabled"; despite the team being hobbled, "the 'Varsity played a very satisfactory game considering that some of the players had lined up for the first time." Guilford, after fielding a strong team in 1897, regressed somewhat in 1898. As the Guilford Collegian explained, "Mr. Joel Whitaker, who trained our boys for a few weeks last year, had promised to do so again this year for his bare expenses, but unavoidably he could not be with us.... So, considering the circumstances surrounding our team and that of the University, we have nothing to be ashamed of in the score made on October 1st" (The Tar Heel, October 4th, 1898, p. 1; The Guilford Collegian, Vol. XI, No. 2 (October, 1898), p. 37).

According to an early schedule released in many newspapers, A&M and UNC were originally to have met on October 8th, but the schedule was changed for unspecified reasons so that UNC would play the Greensboro Athletic Club on October 12th and A&M on the 15th (The Wilmington Messenger, October 1st, 1898, p. 2; The Tar Heel, October 4th, 1898, p. 1). However, on October 10th, the Greensboro team reported to UNC's team manager, Kluttz, that they would be unable to come due to the sickness of two of their players. Reportedly, UNC tried to schedule a make-up game with Davidson instead, but Davidson did not respond (The Charlotte Observer, October 11th, 1898, p. 8; The (Raleigh) Morning Post, October 12th, 1898, p. 8).

There were high expectations for the coming game, much of the interest coming from the fact that A&M's coach, McKee, had been a UNC player himself. One article ran, "The fact that McKee, an old University boy, has for some time past been coaching the Agricultural and Mechanical team will prove a big drawing card for the game among the students, for all are anxious to see what kind of stuff McKee's team is made of." Another short snippet in UNC's Tar Heel backed that claim, writing "'Smunk' McKee is coaching the A. & M. foot ball team. 'Smunk's' team will play us Saturday and we'll have a chance to see what sort of stuff 'Smunk' has got" (The Tar Heel, October 11th, 1898, p. 2; The (Raleigh) Morning Post, October 14th, 1898, p. 1).

Carolina started the game by kicking off the ball to A&M, with Graves kicking the ball 50 yards into the Farmers' territory. Whitley gained another 3 yards on the first carry of the game, but on the second carry, Bryson is tackled and fumbles the ball 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage, where it is captured by North Carolina. Howell, for the Tar Heels, gained 5 yards, and then trotted 15 yards for the touchdown; Graves missed the kick after goal, and the score stood at 5-0 in favor of the Tar Heels.

Person kicked off for A&M, kicking 36 yards. Graves advanced the ball 15 yards for UNC in the return, followed by a 4-1/2 yard gain by Coxe, and then a 10 yards gain, but the Tar Heels fumbled the ball; the Red and White recovered the ball. A&M took advantage of the turnover, steadily advancing the ball. The drive started with a 2-1/2 yard gain by Person, followed by a 1-1/2 yard gain by Bryson, another run by Person, this time for 2 yards, another 1-1/2 yard run by Bryson, and finally a 5 yard run by Bryson; unfortunately, Bryson was called offsides, and the ball was given to Chapel Hill. Coxe and Howell both ran for 5 yards each, but the White and Blue again fumbled the ball. The ball was again recovered by the Farmers. Not learning from his previous mistake, Bryson drove the ball 1-1/2 yards before being called for being offside again, resulting in UNC regaining control of the ball. At this point, Howell came out of the game and was replaced by Buxton. Coxe ran the ball for no gain, and Buxton ran the ball 2-1/2 yards. Graves kicked the ball 50 yards and Carolina recovered the kick, but again fumbles the ball back to the Farmers. A&M mounted another slow drive, started by a 3 yard gain by Bryson. Whitley gained another 3 yards for A&M, followed by another handoff to Bryson, this time for 1 yard, and then a series of runs by Whitley for 6-1/2 yards. Person then kicked the ball for 20 yards, but Graves negated the kick by way of a equidistant return. Buxton carried the ball 4-1/2 yards for UNC, followed by a 2 yard gain by Shull, a 3 yard gain by Buxton, a 3 yard carry by Graves, a 6 yard gain by Coxe, an 11 yard gain by UNC, a 4-1/2 yard run by Bennett, a 1 yard gain by Graves, a 6 yard run by Coxe, a 3 yard run by Buxton, and a 1-1/2 yard gain by Graves, Buxton finally carried the ball over the goal line; this time, Graves made the kick, and after changing possession seven times, the Tar Heels were up 11-0.

Though the last drive may have been very slow and tedious to read through, it was a good sign: the Red and White were able to at least partially hold back the Tar Heels. This was not the same revolving-door of a team that had mounted a 34-0 point in the first half the year before; they were able to, at the very least, delay the advance of UNC's team.

Person kicked off 30 yards for the Red and White; Osborne, for UNC, received the kick and returned it 20 yards. Coxe broke off a "pretty run" of 37 yards around the left side of A&M's line. Coxe's long run was followed up by a 3 yard gain by Buxton, a 1 yard gain by Buxton, a 5 yard gain by Graves, an 8 yard gain by Coxe, a 3 yard run by Shull, and a 2 yard run by Buxton before a Carolina foul resulted in A&M possessing the ball. Unfortunately, A&M squandered their opportunity, fumbling the ball into UNC's hands after Person and Bryson gained 2-1/2 yards. After a 3 yard gain by Buxton, Coxe ran the ball 5 yards and then across the goal line for a touchdown, but tried to pass the ball behind the goal line; A&M subsequently fell on the ball, resulting in a touchback. Person kicked the ball off from the 25 yard line; Graves received the ball and ran it back 25 yards. This set up "the prettiest play of the game," according to the Tar Heel: "Tate dashes at Person as he catches at the ball[.] He fumbles. Osborne snatches it up in his arms and starts down the field closely followed by the enemy. But he fails to catch up and after a beautiful run 45 yards Osborne carries it over for another touchdown." Graves made the kick after goal, and the score stood at 17-0 in favor of the Tar Heels.

In the dwindling minutes of the half, which was 20 minutes long (as opposed to the 15 minute length of the second half), Person kicked the ball 37 yards. Graves returned the ball. A&M regained control of the ball around midfield right as the half expired.

At the start of the second half, Jones took Osborne's place for UNC, and Fifer relieved Cromartie. Person kicked off 40 yards, and Graves returned the ball to midfield. After this, the game description in the Tar Heel gets rather choppy and appears to be out of order. Somehow, the next play described in the game summary is a series of runs for little gain by A&M. Assuming Graves fumbled the ball upon reaching midfield, the summary goes as follows: Whitley ran the ball 4 yards for A&M, followed by a gainless carry by Caserley, a 1 yard gain by Whitley, and another gainless carry by Caserley. After a 1 yard gain by Bryson, Person kicked the ball 25 yards. Then, the summary reads as follows: "Graves returns it for 30 yards and Person returns the kick." That most likely means that Graves returned Person's kick 30 yards, and the editor simply mixed a few things up. Here, Coxe steps out of the game, and was replaced by Copeland. Copeland immediately gained 3-1/2 yards, followed by a 5 yard gain by Buxton. On the next play, the ball was fumbled 7 yards before Bennett, for UNC, fell on the ball. Following the fumble, Copeland broke off a 25 yard run, Buxton ran for 5 yards, and then for another 15. Copeland carried the ball 8 yards, and then 5 yards, but after the play the ball was fumbled 10 yards backwards. UNC failed to gain the 10 yards back, and the ball turns over to the Red and White on downs. The Farmers kicked the ball away soon; Whitley gained just 1 yard, followed by a 3 yard carry by Bryson, a 2 yard run by Whitley, and a loss of 1 yard by Bryson. Person kicked the ball away 15 yards, but the ball was caught by Rogers of UNC and advanced 25 yards. Copeland then broke off another long run, this time for 15 yards. Buxton ran the ball another 3 yards forward, and Shull finally carried the ball over the goal line; Graves missed an "easy goal," and the score became 22-0.

At this point in the game, UNC's captain, Rogers, steps out of the game, and Martin comes in at quarterback. Person kicked the ball 35 yards, and Graves returned the kick. Then, Person kicked the ball again, this time for 15 yards. After a pair of 15 yard gains by Tate and Copeland and a short 3 yard gain by Buxton, comes one of the more interesting plays of the game. "Shull and Bennett catch Copeland between them and, scattering their opponents right and left, pull him over for a touchdown. Graves kicks goal." This appears to have been a play similar to the now-banned flying wedge, as the papers reads as if Copeland was carried by Shull and Bennett across the goal line. The score was now 28-0.

Person again kicked the ball, this time booting the ball 30 yards. Graves again returned the kick. Again, the paper is unclear as to what happened, but it looks as if A&M gained control of the football somehow, but Fifer broke through A&M's line and stopped Whitley from gaining any yardage. Person kicked the ball, this time for 20 yards; Martin advanced the ball 15 yards. Shull stepped out of the game at this point, to be replaced by Neville. Buxton ran the ball 4 yards, followed by a gain of 8 by Copeland, a pair of 3 yard gains by Graves, a 4 yard carry and a 3-1/2 yard carry by Buxton. After a third run by Buxton, this time for 2 yards, Graves carried the ball over the goal line and successfully made the kick, scoring the final points of the game to make the score 34-0.

Person again kicks off, this time for 35 yards. Graves caught the kick and returned the ball 15 yards. Copeland continued his string of long runs for a 13 yard gain, followed by a 1-1/2 yard run by Buxton. After that, the Tar Heels fumbled the ball, and A&M recovered. Whitley ran the ball twice, once for 2 yards and once for no gain. Then, Person kicked the ball away 15 yards, but the kick was returned 10 yards by Copeland. Buxton gained 18 yards, followed by a 9 yard gain by Copeland, and a 4 yard gain by Buxton. At this point, Graves dropped back to attempt a drop kick field goal (worth 5 points), but missed, giving the ball to A&M. Whitley again ran for little gain, this time 2 yards. Person again kicked the ball. After Person's kick, time was called; the ball was reportedly on A&M's 25 yard line.

The game was played in two halves, the first half lasting 20 minutes and the second half lasting 15 minutes.

Though the score may not reflect it, this was a good game for A&M. "Ramsay's [sic] playing was conspicuous" for the Red and White, but in general their defense had performed much better than the previous year, forcing a lot of fumbles and generally holding the Tar Heels to short gains (The Tar Heel, October 18th, 1898, p. 1). It should also be mentioned that UNC's team went on to be undefeated in 1898 and claimed the title for Champion of the South. They finally defeated rival Virginia in a 6-2 win on Thanksgiving, and other victories included a 53-0 blowout against Georgia, and a 28-6 win against another Old Dominion powerhouse, VPI. Considering that many of UNC's starters were playing for much of the game, the Farmers and Mechanics performed admirably.

In retrospect, the Farmers played commendably against the Tar Heels; UNC's 1898 football team was widely considered to be one of the best UNC football teams of all time in the school's early years; UNC's only undefeated season in football history, it was selected as one of the top 6 football seasons in UNC history by a committee of people involved in Carolina's early athletic history (Barrier, p. 14).