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The Red and White opened their season on October 7th against the U.S.S. Franklin, a familiar foe from the 1909 season. Just like their last meeting, the Jackies brought with them a large contingent of loud and active rooters; this was a fact that local papers advertised heavily, noting that 600-to-700 soldiers from the Norfolk Naval Yard would be making the trip down to Raleigh. Another important factor was the lusty cheering the bluejackets had given A&M during their past two Thanksgiving games, reportedly holding up their end of an agreement made after A&M defeated them (News and Observer, September 12th, 1911, p. 3).

Since it was still so early in the season, there were a lot of unknowns about A&M's team heading into the game. Even in the days immediately preceding the game, an exact lineup of Red and White men was unknown; partially, this was becaues Coache Greene liked to keep things closely under wrap until the game kicked off, but another factor was that the team had been running secret practices. The likely explanation for this was probably Greene wanting to get more practice at trick plays earlier than the week of a big game, rather than fearing espionage from the Franklin (The Raleigh Daily Times, September 30th, 1911, p. 3).

While it was "doubtful" to find "a better trained body of rooters" than the Blue and White from Norfolk, the same could not be said about their team (News and Observer, September 12th, 1911, p. 3). Before October 3rd the Sailors were reported to have played two games by Raleigh papers; one game resulted in a scoreless tie for the Blue and White, while the other was a win. The scoreless tie came against the U.S.S. New Hampshire around September 23rd; the identity of the team they had defeated could not be confirmed (The Raleigh Daily Times, October 3rd, 1911, p. 3).

Like the previous meeting between the two teams, the Jackies' visit to the city was probably more anticipated as the game itself, with several major events planned to welcome the naval men to the city. The Sailors arrived in Raleigh at 11 o'clock on the morning of the game. After arriving at Union Depot, they met multiple members of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, alongside a contingent of A&M cadets and the band. From there, the two groups of cadets and their respective bands marched through downtown Raleigh until they reached the Capitol building, where they again laid a wreath at the statue of Worth Bagley.

After the wreath laying, the Sailors were given commemerative pins in sponsorship of "Wide-A-Wake Raleigh," a civic group interested in bringing increased business to Raleigh. After the ribbons were distributed, the sailors were brought to Nash Square, where they were given a barbecue dinner at the behest of the Chamber of Commerce. After the dinner, the soldiers went on to the football game (News and Observer, October 7th, 1911, p. 7). However, the sailors didn't march in formation to the Athletic Field due to construction on Hillsborough Street; instead, they either took a street car or walked along the sidewalk.

One final note of interest before the game: a new scoreboard had been installed in the southeast corner of A&M Athletic Field, "where it can be easily seen from all parts of the bleachers." This was A&M's first home game with a scoreboard, and possibly their first game ever played with an "up-to-date" scoreboard. The scoreboard, which was frequently called the bulletin board, was secured by the efforts of Dr. Burton J. Ray, A&M's Instructor of Chemistry, "a great friend to the advancement of athletics at A. & M." Construction on the scoreboard started on October 2nd and was completed in time for the game; it was operated by Ray and members of A&M's second string. The board showed the score of each team, the quarter, and the downs and distance. The Farmers were "first among Southern colleges" with such a scoreboard (Red and White, Vol. XIII No. 2 (October 1911), p. 152; News and Observer, October 3rd, 1911, p. 3).

The game started at 4:12 PM, a bit later than the 4 PM kickoff anticipated. Cool kicked off for the Red and White to start the game. Unfortunately, the first quarter, which was 10 minutes in length, was not reported in great detail; News and Observer reported that "nothing of importance happened" aside from fumbling and some "good forward pass work by Franklin" which "might have been broken up if they [A. & M.] had played in the usual A. & M. style." The Raleigh Daily Times described it in a bit more detail but was still fairly scant on details. The quarter was reportedly marred by A&M repeatedly fumbling the ball.

The Sailors worked the ball up the field but eventually they were forced to punt, giving the Farmers the ball. Not long after getting the ball, though, the Farmers fumbled the ball, ceding possession back to the Tars. Here, A&M's line strengthened up, but their offense did not; "The ball passed from side to side" until the quarter ended with the ball about 40 yards from Franklin's goal line in A&M hands.

On the very first play of the second quarter. "Big" Dave Robertson, "the human airship," used his "wonderful speed" and for a long touchdown. Aided by Stafford's interference, Robertson ran 40-60 yards for a touchdown; Hurtt kicked the goal, making the score 6-0 in favor of the Farmers. The remainder of the quarter's play was "ragged," with nothing noteworthy taking place aside from more A&M fumbles.

The intermission was perhaps one of the more noteworth of A&M's early halftimes. Though halftimes are rarely noteworthy--especially back in the early 1900s--this one was different; indeed, it was called "the best thing of the afternoon." Though there was no recorded show or marching band performance, there was a ceremony: the Farmers presented the Tars of U.S.S. Franklin with a replacement goat. The Naval Boys' goat had been an immensely popular feature of the sailors' visit in 1909; sadly, at some point in the intervening years, the goat passed, leaving the sailors without their mascot.

Though they had only discovered the passing of the goat on Friday night, the Farmers made it their mission to fill this void. By late Saturday afternoon, the Farmers had procured the funds--in five cent increments (roughly $1.50 in 2019)--to gift the Jackies a replacement goat. The Farmers marched the goat, decorated "with a very pretty array of colors and other decorations," through the field's gate to the sailors at the center of the field. The Farmers' also gifted the Sailors a full 15 pennants with excess funds from the purchase of the goat. The whole procession was explained in great detail in the local papers; from Raleigh Daily Times:

"The goat was led on field by Chief Rooter Mullen and one of his able assistants, was banner carrier. He bore the large sign which enlightened the spectators as to what was going on. The goat, Chief Mullen, and the assistant were met at the center of the field by Bugle Master and Chief Rooster DePerini of the Franklin[.] [H]e received the four-footed animal from the pair of leaders and returned to his overjoyed friends on the bleachers. The Tars were glad and they showed their appreciation by dismounting from their lofty seats and getting in the gate where the officer was on guard[.] [T]hey proceeded to make a detour of the field with a finishing point in front of the Red and White rooters. They yelled [for A&M] and then yelled some more [and] that was all."

Despite the jubilation by the Sailors during the break, the third quarter was all Farmers. Sources disagree on the order of the scoring, however News and Observer's description of the game, which was the most complete, gives the order as presented*. The first was scored when one Red and White drive stalled relatively close to the Franklin's goal line after a line plunge failed to gain on second down. To the surprise of most spectators, instead of attempting a goal from field (field goal), either Robertson (N&O) or Cool (Red and White) was sent around right end; the act may have also caught the Sailors by surprise, as it resulted in a touchdown. Hurtt made the goal kick, putting the Farmers up 12-0. The second touchdown was made on the heels of an "unusually pretty punt" of nearly 60 yards by Cool on yet another Aggie third down. Either Quinn or Davis fumbled the kick, allowing Hurtt to recover the ball behind the Sailor goal line. He missed the second goal kick, making the score 17-0 in favor of the Red and White at the end of the third quarter.

The Farmers scored their final points with just under a minute left in the fourth quarter. Though they tried several forward passes throughout the quarter, only one was successful. A long, 50-yard run by Cool put A&M at Franklin's 10-to-15-yard line, and from there "a beautifully executed forward pass" to Seifert resulted in a touchdown. Hurtt made the final goal to put A&M up 23-0.

In general, it was believed that the day's "extreme heat seemed to affect both teams" and caused the play to slow greatly over the course of the day--there was, after all, a high of 92 degrees. However, as Red and White put it, "Had the weather been cooler it is very doubtful if the sailors could have held the heavy A. & M. team to a 23 to 0 score." Notably, A&M outweighed the Tars by nearly 20 pounds, tipping the scales with an average member weight of 189 pounds.

Stars of the game for A&M were Dave Robertson, for his two touchdowns, Hurtt, for his touchdown and goal kicking, and Seifert, as well as the work of Cool. The only assessment of the Franklin team (aside from lauding their many forward pass attempts) came from the Wilmington Messenger, who wrote that Basham, Conrad, Quinn, and Smith put in the best work.

Though not applauded for their playing, the Sailors again made a name for themselves for their lively rooting. The Jackies came equipped with megaphones, flags, songs, and even frying pans to clang, along with a 25-piece band. Though contemporary reports of the game claimed the crowd of 2,900 taxed the field greatly (claiming "The football bleachers were full, the small bleachers were full, the grandstand was partly full, and there was a good deal of standing room also occupied"), later reports wrote that "there was still room for many more" (News and Observer, October 15th, 1911, p. 7).

Following the game, the Franklin football team stayed over in Raleigh. Following the game, the teams went to the Raleigh Academy of Music, where they watched a play called Beverly of Graustark; the box seats at the theater were decorated in the colors of both teams. The team left for Norfolk the following morning (News and Observer, October 8th, 1911, pp. 9, 11; The Raleigh Daily Times, October 9th, 1911, p. 3; Red and White, Vol. XIII No. 2 (October 1911), pp. 145-146; The (Wilmington) Morning Star, October 8th, 1911, p. 1).

Though their complete schedule is not known, the Jackies followed their game against A&M with three consecutive losses. The next known game was two weeks later, against the U.S.S. Connecticut, who defeated the Sailors 3-18. After a 0-12 loss at the hands of North Carolina, the Sailors returned to naval conflicts, falling to the Norfolk Light Artillery Blues on November 4th by a 8-23 score. Their next two games, however, resulted in victories, with wins over the U.S.S. Montgomery (17-0) and U.S.S. San Francisco (25-3) spread over a three week period. The sailors closed their season with a 0-26 loss to Wake Forest in Durham, ending with a known record of 3-5-1.

* Notably, though the order of touchdowns is disagreed upon, the total score is consistent between reports; N&O and Red and White both agree that the goal was made after the first touchdown and missed after the secibd, despite presenting the scores in reversed order of each other.