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  * Non-conference games

Following a strong 1907 season, the Aggies returned much of their core of strong players for 1908, including Thompson, Stephens, Saddler, and Von Glahn, as well as coach Mickey Whitehurst, though there were down a few stars--most notably Beebe, Tull, and Thomason. Whitehurst was quoted as saying that the season's prospects were "brighter than ever before" early in the season, and the consensus of A&M fans was that he was right. Despite a daunting schedule which included the team's first meeting with powerful Georgetown, in addition to tough games against VPI and Virginia, the Red and White were had an "abundance and quality" of players to draw from which could "hardly be excelled" (Red and White, Vol. X No. 1 (September 1908), p. 43).

Coach Whitehurst returned to Raleigh on September 9th, 1908, just under a month before the first game of the season and got down to work whipping the team into shape. Among the new material on the field was Arthur C. Deits, from Mexico. Though he failed to make the team, Deits was the first known Hispanic player to try out for the team (The Raleigh Evening Times, September 16th, 1908, p. 6). Other new players trying out for the team were Dunn, Ross, Floyd, and Gattis, who all played throughout the year, albeit largely as scrubs (Red and White, Vol. X No. 1 (September 1908), p. 43).

The large core of returning players coupled with the strong underclassmen led to Red and White fans being eager to prove themselves throughout the season despite the tough schedule, arranged by Manager C. P. Gray. As Ceburn D. Harris, associate-manager of the Athletic Association, was quoted as saying:

"Yes, we've got a good team and a good schedule. We've got good management and a good coach, and if we don't make good, it will be because the other fellow has got the best team... And we are not afraid to try any of them. Why, we went after Princeton, the Indians, Cornell and Swarthmore. We play everything in the State that will play us. We are not afraid of being defeated. It's got to come some time, and there is no disgrace about it" (News and Observer, September 27th, 1908, p. 1).

The first game of the season came off against Wake Forest, who were participating in their first intercollegiate football competition since 1895. Understandably, Whitehurst was not terribly concerned about whether the team would win or not. In a pre-game interview, Whitehurst was described as "all smiles," and was worried only because had had not yet determined which men trying out for his team would fit the best (News and Observer, September 29th, 1908, p. 5).

The Farmers opened their season by smashing the Baptists 25-0; a week later, they took down William & Mary 24-0. Following the Wake Forest game, Whitehurst's biggest complaint was the "lack of confidence" among the new players (News and Observer, October 9th, 1908, p. 3). However, under the guidance of Whitehurst and long-time assistant coach Joel Whitaker, the team continued to train and improve. The first big game of the season was the following game against the Blue and Gray of Georgetown with just a three day turnaround from their game against William & Mary.

Georgetown had long been one of the dominant teams on the East coast and was easily the most consistently-dominant in the Maryland-DC region. The Georgetown game was scheduled to be the crowning event of the 1908 North Carolina State Fair, though that date created some conflict with the Georgetown faculty, which nearly caused the game to be canceled. Eventually, a $600 guarantee (roughly $17,000 in 2019) lured the Washingtonians to Raleigh, where they lost a close game. The Aggies got a touchdown in the first half and played strong defense throughout the second half to prevent Georgetown from ever having the chance to tie things up.

The following week's game, against Randolph-Macon, was unexpectedly canceled after their coach, Warren Rice, repeatedly left the team to assist Virginia's coach, Merritt Cooke, Jr., in preparing the team for their match against A&M. The Ashlanders were, at the very least, up front about why they canceled the game, stating that they had no chance of winning the game and that they did not want to risk losing any players to injury so as to maximize their chances of winning the Eastern Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship. That gave the Farmers extra time to improve their endurance and keep themselves from getting winded (The Raleigh Evening Times, October 21st, 1908, p. 8).

The cancelation of the Randolph-Macon game made the Farmers play two of their biggest games of the season back-to-back. Virginia, for their part, was leaving no stone unturned in preparing for the game, having scheduled a bye-week between their A&M game and their previous game. Aditionally, the Orange and Blue were said to be engaging in their most elaborate and thorough preparations in school history for the game, engaging eight total coaches to help train each position to their maximum potential.

On top of their strong coaches, Virginia was returning almost all of their entire all-star team of the previous year, plus the addition of Stanton, a powerful track star from California. The Virginians had tied the ever-strong Sewanee team 0-0 in their previous match, and were widely considered the front-runner among top teams in the South. Despite some undercurrents regarding hypocrisy in regards to player professionalism and transfer rules, Virginia's team was undoubtedly among the best in the South.

Despite Virginia's confluence of coaches and strong players, Whitehurst was reported as being confident in bringing home a win from the team's first trip to Norfolk (News and Observer, October 25th, 1908, pp. 1, 6). And right he may have been, had the Farmers stuck to their guns: Virginia protested the playing of two of A&M's star players, Thompson and Von Glahn, on grounds of professionalism. Though A&M pointed out that several of Virginia's players had broken the very rules the Red and White men were being debarred for, the Orange and Blue refused to back down. A&M played the game with two serious handicaps, and as a result lost the game 0-6. Red and White bitterly referenced this in their December issue when they noted that "Thompson was... beyond any doubt an all Southern back, except 'when U. Va. selects the team.'" (Red and White, Vol. X No. 4 (December 1908), p. 179).

The loss to Virginia was, without a doubt, deflating. Before it, the Farmers had been anticipating a shot at the title of Southern champion, and had even tentatively discussed arranging several post-season games to determine a winner. The initial edition of the schedule printed in Red and White said that an All-Star game in the style of their 1907 game was probable, and by mid-October the Farmers intended to send a representative to Nashville to arrange a post-season game with Vanderbilt (Red and White, Vol. X No. 1 (September 1908), p. 46; The Raleigh Evening Times, October 10th, 1908, p. 16). Even after their loss to Virginia, A&M was attempting to organize a game with either Vanderbilt or Sewanee, with sports writers maintaining hope of such a game through late November (News and Observer, November 22nd, 1908, p. 13).

Instead, the Farmers rounded out their season with four final games. The first was a match with their "principal rival in North Carolina": Davidson. One bit of drama to the Davidson game was that the Presbyterian's former quarterback, Morton, had joined the A&M team as a backup player over the summer. The game was set to determine the true champion of the state of North Carolina, with Davidson and North Carolina having tied. The Farmers won a one-sided game 21-0, though sports writers noted that the score made the game appear less close than it was in reality.

The following week the Mechanics were expected to travel to Lexington, Virginia to play Washington & Lee. The White and Blue, who were led by former UNC and VPI coach R. R. Brown and assistant coach Charles S. Roller, formerly of the Virginia Military Institute, had a strong season that fall, taking down strong North Carolina and Georgetown teams, but lost to eventual Southern champion George Washington and Virginia Tech (VMI). Though comparative scores indicate a likely A&M win, the Lexingtonians were confident of a win, and finished out their season with two strong wins.

A week later,the Aggies played Wake Forest for the second time in the season, demolishing the nascent Baptists 76-0 in a game so lopsided it was described as "nothing more than a joke." Their final game of the season was a heavily-anticipated matchup between the agricultural schools of North Carolina and Virginia--a Thanksgiving Day matchup in Norfolk against VPI. The Farmers narrowly won a 6-5 game which was reported to be "the fiercest and most brilliant gridiron contest that the 'down-homers' [North Carolinians] had ever witnessed" (The Raleigh Evening Times, November 27th, 1908, p. 2).

The discussion for Southern champion were greatly muddied in 1908 due to a few facts, the foremost being accusations of profesisonal "ringeres" at Louisiana State University (LSU). Though the school was eventually cleared of the claims and now rightfully claims the SIAA championship and the title of co-national champion, at the time LSU was largely ignored in discussions regarding top teams. The leading all-southern team not specifically focusing on the SIAA was put out by Virginia; this list removed LSU and ranked Virginia first, Sewanee second, Vanderbilt third, Auburn fourth, A&M fifth, George Washington (now the recognized 1908 Southern champion) sixth, VPI seventh, Georgetown eighth, UNC ninth, and Tennessee tenth. Though of course biased towards Virginia, the article rightly pointed out that any attempt to discern a champion through comparative scores was a circular task.

As for an All-Southern Team, the panel from Virginia selected just one A&M player, Von Glahn, though readers should be sceptical of bias, as the panel also selected four Virginia players. The selection of Von Glahn is interesting for a few reasons. First and foremost, the irony: Von Glahn was ruled out of the UVA-A&M game for some alleged but unspecified transgressions. Secondly, Von Glahn played left tackle rather than right guard, though he did play right guard previously (News and Observer, December 20th, 1908, p. 11).

An All-South Atlantic team was put out by F. M. Simmons, the head of UNC's Athletic Association. In Simmons' list, A&M was the most well-represented team, with three members: Von Glahn, at left tackle; Stephens, at quarterback and captain; and Thompson, at left halfback. In his explanation, Simmons noted that Von Glahn was "the real head of the A. & M. team," that Stevens was "a field general without rival" whose passing, open-field running, and hurdling were unmatched, and that Thompson "had almost perfect control of the onside and short kicks," in addition to good skills at bucking the line. Dunn and Seifert were also selected to the second team (Charlotte Daily Observer, December 6th, 1908, p. 14).

At the end of the successful season, star center John Benjamin Bray was elected captain for the coming season. Bray was noted for his hard work work ethic, having hustled his way up from being a sub in 1907 to being the best center in school history in 1908 (News and Observer, December 11th, 1908, p. 5). Assistant Manager L. P. McLendon was promoted to the position of Manager to take the place of Gray.

It was hoped that Whitehurst would return to Raleigh to continue coaching A&M as late as August 1909, however a suitable arrangement could not be made; for Whitehurst, Raleigh was simply too far from his home in Baltimore (The Raleigh Evening Times, August 31st, 1909, p. 7; The (Washington, DC) Evening Star, June 25th, 1909, p. 16). Keying in on that fact, several local colleges--primarily George Washington--tried to bring Whitehurst into their coaching staff, but Whitehurst could not be convinced to coach football: he wanted to give up football "for good" (The (Washington, DC) Evening Star, July 7th, 1909, p. 13). Instead, he directed his efforts towards professional sports, primarily playing baseball and polo with the Maryland Athletic Club, though he did also play some hockey, in addition to wrestling. Baseball was, however, his favorite game (The (Washington, DC) Evening Sun, November 11th, 1909, p. 8).

Eventually, Whitehurst did get back into football a little. He assisted Western Maryland in both 1910 and 1911 prior to their big game against Johns Hopkins; his team lost 16-18 the first time, but won 6-0 the following year. Whitehurst was eventually convinced to spend the 1912 season as Western Maryland's coach, but this would be his last formal work as a coach. Asside from offering to sponsor a trophy to honor the champion of Maryland in 1915, Whitehurst had stepped away from football, choosing instead to focus on his business ventures (The (Baltimore) Sun, September 2nd, 1915, p. 5).

The Farmers were also losing several long-time players to graduation. Among the stars were Stroud, Stephens, Von Glahn, Thompson, "Griz" Saddler, Johnson, and Long (who left the team after the Davidson game so he could focus on his schooling). Aditionally, Marshall, Joseph Whitehurst, and Davidson, long-time subs, were also leaving the team. Despite those losses, "the outlook for a strong team next season is indeed good," and McLendon was looking to organize an even stronger schedule than encountered in 1908 (Red and White, Vol. X No. 4 (December 1908), pp. 179-180).