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What would have been the final game of the year for the Aggies was sadly canceled due to a typhoid fever outbreak which took over the colleges of Lexington and Virginia. The game, planned against Washington & Lee college, had been set to be the Red and White's hallmark Thanksgiving Day game of the 1903 season.

The Lexington boys had played very well in 1903. They lost their season opener on October 3rd to a powerful Virginia team by a score of 0-16, but won the remainder of their games, defeating the Charlottesville-based Miller School (a Virginia private school founded in 1878 and still running today) at home 15-5 on October 9th, followed by a 22-0 victory over Old Point Comfort College, also at home, the next day. Their next two victories came on the road, defeating Randolph-Macon on October 17th by a score of 39-0 in Ashland before tackling Richmond College, defeating the "preachers" in Richmond 11-0.

A few transitive comparisons can be made to the teams A&M played. Probably the easiest comparison would be their victories over Richmond; the Farmers outscored Washington & Lee by 42 points. On the other hand, the Farmers lost 0-21 to VPI, who lost to Virginia 0-21; Since Washington & Lee held UVA to a lower score, it could be argued that the Lexington boys were better than VPI, who defeated the Aggies, and as such, would deserve a transitive win. Other shared games and transitive victories are inconclusive.

Since October 1st, 34 cases of typhoid fever had been reported in the city of Lexington as a whole. It was announced on October 23rd that 9 students at VMI and 7 students at Washington & Lee were sick with typhoid fever; VMI furloughed all of its cadets immediately for the next 30 days, though an initial medical report concluded that "the causes of typhoid fever could not possibly be found in conditions of the grounds of the [Virginia Military] Institute." Additionally, none of the cases among students were critical, and the fever was reported to be "of the mildest type." Despite the downplaying of the report in Richmond, it was reported elsewhere that one student, Percy S. White, of Texas, had died from the breakout. Despite White's death, outside reports still maintained that the outbreak was under control, and that his case was the only critical case (The (Richmond) Times-Dispatch, October 23rd, 1903, p. 1; The (Richmond) Times-Dispatch, October 24th, 1903, p. 1; Charlotte Daily Observer, October 25th, 1903, p. 1; The Lexington (Va.) Gazette, October 28th, 1903, p. 3).

After holding out longer than their school of the same city, Washington & Lee officially canceled their football season on November 3rd. Oddly, the press release officially cited the closure on the furloughing of VMI's cadets, and failed to mention typhoid fever at all. In fact, Washington & Lee never actually closed for the sickness. The release also mentioned that it was "possible that the team will be reorganized for a Southern tour," but that at the time of publication, that possibility was only being "spoken of." That did not come to pass (The (Richmond) Times-Dispatch, November 3rd, 1903, p. 2; The (Richmond) Times-Dispatch, November 4th, 1903, p. 9).

The Farmers were disappointed in losing the game. Primarily, their team had been gaining steady momentum since the return of several players injured during the season-opener against Guilford. Additionally, the chance to host a Thanksgiving Day football game was a big deal, not only for the local park, but also for the teams involved, who often got a portion of the ticket fees from the often-huge holiday crowds. The football team in particular regretted the opportunity to repay the Washington and Lee boys "the many courtesies shown us while in Lexington" (The Agromeck, Vol. II (1904), p. 143.