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Thanksgiving Day 1907 was the second consecutive highly-anticipated Turkey Day football game for the Aggies. Though the previous years' game against Virginia Polytechnic Institute had been touted as "unquestionably the biggest thing A. and M. [had] ever engaged in," it was again blown away by this matchup since Virginia was among the two unquestioned leaders among the South's dominant football schools at the turn of the Century. As Red and White put it, the 1907 Thanksgiving game was "the only real glorious one in the history of this college" (Red and White, Vol. IX No. 4 (December 1907), p. 201).

The Farmers were unstoppable: they had no losses and had won five of their last six games; with a cumulative score of 71-9 on the season, the Farmers had relinquished just one goal from field (field goal) and one touchdown throughout the duration of the season. Despite being out two of their strongest players (captain Thompson and Sykes, who were both barred from playing against UVA due to eligibility disputes) and having some concern about the healthiness of Seifert, the Techs still felt they would win the game (Red and White, Vol. IX No. 3 (November 1907), p. 133).

The Virginians had played their usual strong schedule. After tying a hastily-scheduled game against a strong Davidson tea 5-5 (scheduled to fill the void of their original season opener against William & Mary, which was canceled for the same reason that the Orange and White had canceled on A&M), the Orange and Blue began to roll, defeating Richmond, St. John's of Maryland, and Gallaudet by 18 or more points each. The following week, the Wahoos narrowly edged out the Virginia Military Institute 18-17, and followed up that harrowing win with a 9-4 win over North Carolina in Richmond.

The following week, disaster struck the Virginians in the form of a loss to Sewanee; the perennially-strong Tennesseans defeated Virginia 12-0 in "a sea of mud" (College Topics, Vol. XIX No. 13 (November 6th, 1907), p. 1). The next game was a more damning loss to the Virginians; losing for just the second time ever at Lambeth Field, the Orange and Blue fell 5-6 to a mediocre 3-2-1 Washington & Lee team. The team bounced back in their rivalry game against Georgetown, winning 28-6 after retooling their team and bringing in the well-respected former coach John de Saulles to assist in coaching the team (College Topics, Vol. XIX No. 15 (November 13th, 1907), p. 1). That put Virginia at a respectable, if substandard 6-2-1 record.

The game was an exciting one for fans as well. Notably, nearby Jamestown was hosting the Jamestown Exposition, a ten-month celebration of industry held to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the founding of the host city. As part of the exhibition, the city hosted several festival days named after prominent cities and states in the area, such as South Carolina Day (June 28th) or West Virginia Day (July 2nd). The planners wisely chose November 27th to be Raleigh Day in the hopes of luring more North Carolinians to the game. The day featured speeches from Governor Robert Glenn, as well as Raleigh Mayor James I. Johnson (The Charlotte News, November 27th, 1907, p. 3).

Even ten days before the game the Farmers were confident of their victory. Having recently finished perfecting a few trick plays solely to be used in the Virginia game, graduate manager C. D. Harris wrote that 300 A&M cadets--about 150 shy of the entire student body--would be joining the team on their trip to Norfolk, adding that "Enthusiasm is keen for the Thanksgiving game." Going on, he said the Farmers had "no fear of the result," stating that Davidson had been a stronger team (News and Observer, November 17th, 1907, p. 1; The Raleigh Evening Times, November 18th, 1907, p. 3).

Somewhat scandalously, the A&M Athletic Association "decided to pay the expenses of railroad fair and hotel accomodations for lady chaperones who will take parties of eight or ten young ladies, and a number of rooms have been engaged... where the A. and M. aggregation will make headquarters, from use of the lady chaperones... free of charge." I assume the purpose of this was to encourage young women to come who would have otherwise been discouraged from traveling alone; the spirited enthusiasm which female rooters gave players was, indeed, frequently mentioned in newspaper reports (The Raleigh Evening Times, November 19th, 1907, p. 3).

The Red and White left for Norfolk on the morning of the 27th. Before leaving, each member of the team (as well as Thompson and Sykes) gave short speeches in a packed college auditorium and talked about how the game was for championship of the South--a grandiose claim not echoed by many others in the football world. The send-off even featured a speech by Governor Glenn, who commented that North Carolina had been a leader in "all the leading events of our nation [paraphrase]" and that there was no reason the state couldn't lead in football as well. Notably, a 25-piece band traveled with the team to Norfolk (New Bern Weekly Journal, November 29th, 1907, p. 1; Red and White, Vol. IX No. 4 (December 1907), p. 201).

The Farmers won the toss and elected to kick the ball to Virginia; Johnson delivered the kick to Maddux (College Topics and Charlotte Daily Observer) or Hume (News and Observer), who returned the ball 15 yards to Virginia's 35-yard line, where he was tackled by Tull. After a 3 yard run by Yancey, the Farmers put up a stout defense, and the Cavaliers kicked, with Captain Neff kicking the ball to the Aggies' 10, where Stephens fell on the ball. After a 5-6 yard run by Spencer on a fake kick play and a successful side kick from to Stephens, Johnson kicked back to Hume, who caught the ball at his own 40-yard line.

The Virginians started off their second drive well, with Maddux and Hume connecting on the first forward pass of the game for a 30-to-35-yard gain. The Charlottesville boys continued their strong second drive, but then lost the ball on a fumbled forward pass, giving the Farmers the ball at their own 5-yard line. Not long after the Farmers got the ball, a 15-yard penalty was assessed to Virginia, and followed by a 4 yard gain by Johnson, who then elected to punt to Hume, who caught the ball at midfield. The Charlotte Daily Observer reported that A&M recovered the ball "in the scramble" (a detail omitted by College Topics); after a gain of 6 yards split between Stroud and Beebe, A&M punted to Virginia's 40-yard line.

Once back in control of the ball, Yancey and Neff nearly combined for a first down (5-8 and 1-2 yards each), followed by a second long run for 10 yards by Yancey. Later, either Neff or Hornaker (College Topics reports Neff, though The Charlotte Daily Observer reports Hornaker, the quarterback and more likely passer) and Maddux connected on a forward pass for 15-20 yards, bringing the ball to the Red and White 25 or 30 yard line. Once there, the Virginians elected to try a goal from field (field goal), which Hume successfully made, giving UVA a 4-0 lead about 15 minutes into the first half.

Throughout that first 15 minutes of the game, the "excitement" of the first half made the A&M players play nervously, causing a number of their forward passes to fail while the Virginians' passes connected well; additionally, Johnson was reported to have been "in poor shape." After being scored upon, A&M "went to work in earnest." First, though, Johnson kicked to Hume, who returned the ball 10-30 yards (reports differ greatly on the distance). Hume kicked the ball away, sending the ball to midfield, where Stephens fielded the kick but was "downed in his tracks." After each team exchanged kicks, the Aggies were back in control of the ball. A fake punt by Stroud netted the Techs 8 yards, and not long later Beebe made a colossal 20-yard run through Virginia's tackles. Eventually, however, the Virginians' defense stopped A&M, who gave up the ball on either a failed third down conversion or a punt.

Hume caught A&M's punt at his own 30-yard line. Virginia's drive started with a 5 yard gain by either Neff or Jones, and was followed by a pickup of 8 by Yancey. Captain Neff made an impressive 20-yard run, followed by another gain by Hume for 6 yards. Here, though, Virginia failed a forward pass attempt and punted the ball away, with Hume sending the kick to Johnson at A&M's 45-yard line.

Reports differ greatly on what exactly happened after this point, but the gist of things is that the ball went back and forth, with both teams failing several forward passes or being penalized with some frequency, though the ball did generally move closer to Virginia's goal line. In the final seconds of the half, the Farmers lined up for a place kick attempt of their own from about the 25-yard line; College Topics wrote that their attempt missed wide, while The News and Observer wrote that "preparations [were] being made" just as time expired.

To start the second half, Neff kicked off to Johnson, who was tackled at the 12-yard line. On the next play, Stephens and Johnson executed a fake punt play for a 20 yard gain, however, after an 5-8 yard gain by either Johnson or Spencer, Hume recovered a fumbled Red and White forward pass, giving the Cavaliers the ball on A&M's 25-yard line. After a 4-yard gain by Virginia, though, A&M recovered a Virginia fumble, giving them the ball right back.

A run by James and a fake kick play by Stephens both resulted in little-to-no gain, and on the following play the Farmers lost the ball, either on a fumble or for failing to convert their third down. It's not exactly clear what happened next at this point, as all three accounts of the game differ wildly, but in general most papers agree that there was a lot of fumbling, penalties, and punting. College Topics mostly records a series of punts and returns, while The Charlotte Daily Observer and The News and Observer agree roughly that the Farmers were putting strong pressure on the Virginians, with Von Glahn in particularly proving to be a defensive menace to the Charlottesville boys, getting at least one sack and possibly also blocking a UVA punt.

Eventually, the Farmers make a strong movement towards Virginia's goal after picking up a Cavalier fumble around midfield. A series of runs and tandem plays by a combination of Stroud, Stephens, Johnson, Beebe, and James carried the ball to within 10-12 yards of Virginia's goal line. There, Johnson again attempted a place kick; unfortunately, however, his kick "went wild" and missed.

Since the Red and White's kick missed, Virginia got the ball on a touchback, taking the kickout from her own 25-yard line. After a 1-yard loss by Stephens on the return kick, Johnson booted the ball in a "one-side kick" play to the Orange and Blue's 12-13 yard line, where the ball was recovered by Sadler. After a gain of 6 by Beebe, 3 by Stroud, and 2 by Stroud, the Farmers had a first down. Reports said that the Farmers started their next down on the 5-yard line, despite this not adding up with the reported starting location of the drive. On the first run of the new set of downs, "Va. rallies and holds fast," however, on the second down, Stroud* ran the ball the 1 remaining yard to cross Virginia's goal line, earning the first and only touchdown of the day. Johnson successfully made the goal kick, putting A&M up 6-4. "Pandemonium broke loose on the Tar Heel side," wrote Red and White, "and kept up until the game was over."

Around this time, Caldwell replaced Hume. Neff kicked off for Virginia; Beebe returned the kick 10 yards. The drive started well for the Farmers; Johnson either ran 25 yards on his own, or gained 15 yards himself with the second 10 made by Stroud. From there, the Tar Heels romped down the field, with Stroud and Beebe each running for 10 yards. After exchanging at least two punts, A&M got to Virginia's 30 yard line after a UVA fumble; the Aggies moved to the 10-yard line on a 20-yard forward pass to Sadler. There (or from the 25--again, reports differ), however, the Farmers' drive ended after Johnson missed another goal from field.

Neff again kicked to the Farmers, where the Aggies recovered the ball at their own 50-yard line. On a second "clever" on-side kick, Johnson advanced the ball to Virginia's 35-yard line, where the ball was recovered by Von Glahn. Stephens advanced the ball another 10-15 yards on a fake-kick play; from there, Stroud lost 5 yards, but Tull made 7, putting the Techs roughly at the UVA 25-to-30-yard line. With Stevens acting as the holder, Johnson made his first goal from placement of the game, giving the Aggies a 10-4 lead with just 5 minutes of game time left.

In the dwindling minutes of the second half, "Virginia was on the defensive and fought wildly to save a more disastrous defeat." Stephens kicked off for the Farmers, however, Neff immediately punted the ball back; Randolph landed on the ball at midfield. Shortly thereafter, however, Virginia lost the ball on a forward pass attempt. Johnson immediately kicked the ball back to Virginia, where it was caught by Hornaker around the UVA goal line and returned 25-26 yards. Though reports agree that the ball was at the Virginia 20-25 yard line, they disagree over who had possession, with College Topics writing that Virginia had the ball and The Charlotte Daily Observer writing that A&M had the ball (College Topics, Vol. XIX No. 20 (November 30th, 1907), pp. 1, 8; Charlotte Daily Observer, November 29th, 1907, p. 3; News and Observer, November 29th, 1907, p. 1; Red and White, Vol. IX No. 4 (December 1907), pp. 160-161).

* Reports differ slightly on who made the touchdown. While the general consensus is that Stroud made the touchdown (Charlotte Daily Observer, News and Observer, The Baltimore Sun, and Red and White all agree), the only Virginia-based summary of the game, from Charlottesville's College Topics, reported that Johnson made both the touchdown and the goal kick.

Similar to the previous year's Thanksgiving game, the estimated attendence of the 1907 Thanksgiving game likely broke the record for the most heavily-attended NC A&M football game. Red and White and College Topics both wrote that 10,000 fans were present, while The Baltimore Sun upped the mark to 12,000. A more conservative guess of 8-10,000 by The Charlotte Observer brought the average estimated attendence back down to 10,000. Finally, the News and Observer did not make an estimation of the entire crowd size, but did write that about 5,000 North Carolinians were in attendence.

Despite Virginia's strong start, most sources agreed that A&M was, indeed, the better team overall. "The verdict of those who saw the game," wrote The Charlotte Observer, "is that A. & M. won the game by superior playing. The farmer boys seemed a little nervous in the first half, but in the second they got down to steady work."

While no paper gave a list of stars of the game (somewhat unusual for the time), the Farmers received their fair share of congratulations, reportedly receiving "hundreds," including one from UNC, who were perhaps trying to make up for their less-than-amicable Thanksgiving-time spat the previous year. Referencing UNC's recent 0-40 loss to Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Richmond, Red and White thanked Chapel Hill for the kind remarks, adding that UNC's telegram "illustrates admirably well the Tar Heel spirit--if you can't win yourself, you certainly want your brother to win" before going on to write that the hoped UNC would meet more success next season (Red and White, Vol. IX No. 4 (December 1907), p. 162).

The Farmers earned a variety of championship claims for their spectacular season. Red and White carried an article titled "Champions of the South" which wrote that "Never before has any team in the South claiming the Southern championship had such a clear title to it," logically concluding that A&M victory over Davidson earned the Farmers a transitive win over Clemson, whom Davidson had defeated 10-6. Since Clemson had defeated Georgia Tech, and Georgia Tech "wiped out ever team south of Atlanta" (a claim that is somewhat lacking in veracity), and since defeated Virginia had taken down UNC and Georgetown, A&M felt that they had a clear title to Southern champion (Red and White, Vol. IX No. 4 (December 1907), pp. 162-163).

The Farmers did, however, forget to reconcile their lack of transitive wins over then-powerhouses Sewanee and Vanderbilt; the Tigers went 8-1, defeating a strong slate of Southern teams convincingly save a 12-17 loss to Vanderbilt. The Commodores, on the other hand, tore through their Southern competition with similar tenaciousness, tying Navy and losing to Michigan by a narrow margin, earning the SIAA title in the process. Though A&M now only claims South Atlantic Champion in 1907, papers at the time did at least partially agree with A&M's claim to Southern champion, with The Baltimore Sun writing that A&M and Sewanee were co-champions of the South (The (Baltimore) Sun, November 29th, 1907, p. 10).