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Before their game with A&M, Guilford had played just two games in the 1898 season; their season-opening 0-18 loss to in Chapel Hill to the Tar Heels on October 1st, and a 0-17 loss to Virginia Polytechnic Institute (often abbreviated V.P.I.; now known as Virginia Tech) on November 5th. The Quakers opined their lack of a football coach and general athletic situation through their student magazine, writing "No institution in our knowledge has such difficulties to overcome to send out a winning team in athletics, foot ball especially, as Guilford. Athletics here do not receive the support of the College, the student body and the alumni." In addition to not having any kind of formal coaching, many of the stars of the 1897 team reportedly did not return. The 1898 Guilford team lacked teamwork, with the eleven that played in the VPI game reportedly having "not practiced together at any time previous except a few minutes in the morning before the game" (The Guilford Collegian, Vol. XI, pp. 18, 37-38, 62).

The game was first announced in the Raleigh papers just two days before the game. That short paragraph said the game "promises to be one of the most evenly matched and hotly contested games of the season." Despite their poor season to-date, a brief article the following day wrote "The A. and M. boys are in fine trim and are confident of victory" (The Times-Visitor, November 22nd, 1898, p. 1; The Times-Visitor, November 23rd, 1898, p. 1). Another note of interest is that it was the first game ever played by A&M at the Fair Grounds, which would become their main playing field until Riddick Stadium opened in 1907, and after that as the field for most major contests. Initially, the intent of the teams was to play a 30 minute first half and a 25 minute second half, but the game was delayed greatly due to several injuries and a minor fight. As such, the second half ran only 15 minutes.

The Quaker-Farmers game is perhaps the best-documented game of A&M football since the start of football at the college, with a play-by-play description running in both The Times-Visitor and the News and Observer, and a third shorter account of the game in the Guilford Collegian. The weather was reportedly "ideal football weather, though it was a little too chilly for the comfort of the spectators." After ten minutes of warmups, the two teams took the field of play. A&M outweighed the Quakers 177 pounds to 155 pounds, and that weight difference would be what many some reporters attributed the victory to their weights, writing "The Farmer boys weighed more than their Quaker rivals--that tells the whole story. Otherwise the battle was most evenly waged."

The Farmers and Mechanics won the toss and chose "the goal favored by the wind," the Northern goal. The Quakers kicked the ball off to start the game, kicking the ball 25-30 yards. The kick was returned 5 yards by the Red and White. Despite a 10 yard gain by Whitley on the first play, the Farmers soon lost the ball on downs after a few short gains and a 7 yard loss on a fumble. Upon gaining possession of the ball, Guilford ran what some described as the "play of the day"; a 25-yard run by Guilford's captain, Armfield, "missing a touchdown only by mistake in following his interference." In the run, though, one of Guilford's best players, Groome, broke his collar bone. "After this," surmised one paper, "there was no withstanding the furious onslaughts of the A. and M. team." Hill came in to replace Groome, but Groome's injury significantly delayed the game. To add insult to the injury of Groome, Guilford soon lost the ball on downs after "a mistake in signals." From there, A&M dominated the game: "A. and M.'s goal was never in danger." The Farmers fumbled the ball and then gained three yards, but Person then kicked the ball 25 yards. Cowles, of Guilford, attempted to kick the ball back, but kicked the ball out of bounds, resulting in A&M getting the ball. After making several gains of about 5 yards each through Woodward, Caserley, and Whitley, A&M committed a foul and lost the ball. Fortunately for the Farmers, Guilford themselves immediately committed a foul which returned the ball to the home team. After a 4 yard run and a 5 yard run by Caserley, the ball was within a yard of the Quaker goal line. "Person was shoved over for a touchdown and Ramsey missed a dead-easy goal." The Farmers led 5-0 after between 13 and 15 minutes of play, depending on which summary you believe.

Daniels kicked off for the Quakers, booting the ball 25 yards for the Crimson and Gray. Whitley returned the kick, initially fumbling the ball but regaining control. A&M only possessed the ball for a few minutes, however, before losing the ball. The Morning Post reported that the Farmers lost the ball after "failing to make the requisite gains"; the News and Observer, on the other hand, wrote that Guilford earned the ball via a Woodard fumble. Either way, the Quarkers subsequently failed to cross the line of gain themselves, and the Farmers earned the ball back. Whitley and Caserley then slowly worked the ball up the field for A&M until again losing the ball on a foul. With the ball back in Quaker hands, Armfield made a 5-yard run "almost unaided," but was unable to provide further momentum, and the ball changed hands again. After that, "The Farmers... put new life in their game and kept the oval moving" with a drive sharing runs between Caserley, Whitley, Woodward, and Person. Up to that point in the drive, the feature play had been an 8 (or 10) yard run by Caserley around either the right or left end--reports differ as to which. After a long drive down the field, the ball was fumbled; the reports differ on the fumbler, with the News and Observer writing that "Whitley dropped the ball but Ramsey picked it up for 4 yards," while the Morning Post wrote "Quarterback Wood fumbled in passing the ball, but Ramsey was on it like a flash and moved up the field for a gain of four yards." On the play, Person of the A&M team was hurt, but despite a "slight delay," play resumed with Person still on the field. After a few short gains by Whitley, Caserley, and Person, "Whitley made the grand stand play of the game.... He deliberately jumped over Guilford's line, brushing aside several players and made a gain of 8 yards." After a few more "mass plays" by Caserley and Person, Bennett, of Guilford, was hurt, but he also remained in play. Finally, with the ball on the Quaker 1-yard line, Person "bucked the centre and put the ball over." Unfortunately, Ramsey missed another "easy kick," but the Red and White were still up 10-0 after another 7-1/2 minutes of playing.

With under 10 minutes of the first half left to play, no more scoring happened, but there was a notable play. The remainder of the half was shortened slightly, though, due to a near-fight and the discussion of the penalty. Guilford kicked off 30 yards, and A&M returned the ball 5 yards. On the first play of the drive, Bennett, Guilford's center, performed a "foul tackle" on Woodward. As a result of the foul, A&M was awarded 10 (or 25, accounts again vary) yards. After a few more rushes for some gain, the half ended with the ball in Guilford territory. During the final drive, Daniels, Guilford's fullback, hurt his ankle, "suffering severely" for the remainder of the game.

The second half opened by A&M kicking the ball off for 30 yards. The Crimson and Gray returned the ball 10 yards, but, as Guilford's editors bitterly wrote, "Guilford could not advance the ball through a heavy line, so had to give up the ball." Here, the papers again differ in their description of the game, with the News and Observer claiming the Cowles kicked the ball 30 yards downfield but advanced 10 on the return by A&M, and the Morning Post writing that the Quakers lost the ball on downs. Either way, Whitley, Person, and Caserley advanced the ball 3-5 yards each once or twice, and then Whitley "made a beutiful ten yard dash around right end." Whitley tried for a second run, but was stopped by Bennett, who executed a "clever" tackle one reported said was "one of the finest tackles ever seen here." Then, Guilford's line stood firm and nearly got a stop, holding A&M to no gains for two straight plays, however, Caserley ran 5 yards through the line and followed the first down up with a 1-yard plunge for the touchdown. Ramsey again "failed an easy goal," and after another 7-1/2 minutes of play, the score was 15-0.

Guilford kicked off the ball 30 yards again, and A&M returned the ball 10 yards. Whitley, Person, Caserley, and Woodward each made excellent runs to start the drive; the Farmers were then aided by a foul on Dalton, of Guilford, for high tackling, allowing the Red and White 10 free yards. The ball was advanced another dozen or so yards before being fumbled; fortunately, the "quarterback [Woodward] caught it on the fly." Finally, Caserley carried the ball over Guilford's goal line, and Ramsey finally hit a kick. On the entire final drive, A&M scored a touchdown "without losing the ball on downs or kicking" in under 7 minutes.

The crowd at the game was "principally A. and M. students," much to the chagrin of Guilford's editor. "They were at their own grounds with the whole college on the side lines (and on the field)," complained their editors. It should be noted that the tresspassing of fans onto the field was a common complaint of many football fans at the time, and many times papers would opine that the spectators interfered with the game. While the Morning Post also wrote about the "large contingent of [A&M] 'rooters' on hand" and how they "made the air resound with college cheers and blasts from an army of horns," it did not note the encroachment of fans.

The mighty 0-18 defeat the Red and White had received at the hands of Guilford the previous year was on the minds of many during the game, especially the Guilford fans. The News and Observer briefly wrote that "the Farmers had a determination to win out. They remembered that a year ago the Quakers had beated them and now they had set themselves to the task of 'getting even.'" The Collegian played upon this theme a little more, adding "The game this year was just the reverse of what it was last. Guilford scored four touchdowns and one goal to A. and M.'s nothing last year, and this year A. and M. scored four touchdowns and one goal to Guilford's nothing." Though Guilford had predicted it would be an easy game "judging from the games played earlier in the season," the Farmers had won their first game since 1895 (or 1896 if the purported 6-0 win against Guilford that year actually did happen). Though it took until the final game of the season, the Red and White could head into the next season knowing that they had improved their record, even if it had been clear all along that they had improved in skill (The (Raleigh) Morning Post, November 25th, 1898, p. 8; News and Observer, November 25th, 1898, p. 6; Guilford Collegian, Vol. XI, No. 4 (December, 1898), pp. 90-91).