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After a good win against the Sailors from Norfolk, the Red and White turned their attention towards another opponent from the Old Dominion: the Virginia Medical College. The Medicos got a rather early start to football this season, kicking things off almost three weeks prior with a road trip to Hampden-Sidney, which they won 12-to-nothing. After a road loss to Washington & Lee (0-7), the White and Green had their first home game of the season, facing the Richmond Blues, a paramilitary team which the medics defeated 14-to-nothing.

Despite losing their only major game of the season, the medical men were not a team to be sneezed at: coached by former University of Virginia backup Charles L. "Pat" Krebs (who rode the bench during the 1905 NC State-Virginia game), they were a rather strong contingent featuring several former undergraduate standouts, most notably James Walker (All-American tackle who played at Minnesota in 1910) and Harry Hedgepeth (multi-year letterman and All South Atlantic tackle at North Carolina in 1909-10).

While the yearling NC A&M team was partly hindered by their lack of star-power, as well as their comparatively delayed start to the season, the Farmers were more hobbled by the continued absence of their captain, Cool, who was afflicted by a knee injury. However, the Raleigh camp was nonplussed, with several members of the teams having continued to make strides. The game was watched with much interest locally as it was their penultimate home game, and the last chance to see how the team would stack up against good competition before their big game against Georgetown (Richmond Times-Dispatch, October 4th, 1912, p. 6; News and Observer, October 11th, 1912, p. 3; Charlotte News, October 11th, 1912, p. 6). Finally, the Virginians were said to be slightly heavier than the Farmers.

Fairly little of the game was reported, primarily due to the game's uninteresting nature, for which the day's intense heat was to blame. What brief accounts we have, however, are fairly homogenous: Virginia kicked off to Page, who advanced the ball about 20 yards before being downed, though exactly where was not reported. After Spencer fumbled for no gain on the first play, he picked up a 20 yard gain; this was followed by a 7 yard gain by Osborne, at which point an A&M offsides penalty (a 5-yard loss) and a run for no gain by Osborne, the Medics forced a turnover on downs, even despite giving 5 yards back with an offsides of their own. The Doctors elected to punt, with Page again collecting the pigskin, returning it 15 yards before being stopped. Eventually, A&M carried the ball to about the 35 yard line, at which time the Farmers took to the air: a forward pass from Spencer to Champion netted 20-30 yards, and not long later, either Anthony or Osborne scored the game's only touchdown on a double pass; Hurtt successfully made the goal kick to cement the 7-to-nothing lead as the first quarter came to an end.

When the second quarter began, Hargrove, Jaynes, and Hudson came in to replace Anthony, Spencer, and Osborne, respectively. The Sawbones kicked off, Hurtt reeling in the kick and advancing it 5 yards before getting stopped. The Red and White advanced the ball steadily up the field, but were unable to cash in on their progress. At some point, the Techs attempted a field goal from the 12-yard line, but were unsuccessful, missing one of just three reported scoring opportunities for the day. The quarter ended with the ball in Aggie possession at the 15-yard line.

After the intermission, the starters (Spencer, Anthony, and Osborne) returned to the game. VMC kicked off to Page, who advanced the ball 25-yards. "After a few minutes of play," two other starters cycled out: Jaynes filling in for Spencer oncemore, and Jeffreys took the place of Champion, who left with an unspecified injury. Around this time, the Aggies lost the ball on downs, allowing the visitors to attempt just their second possession of the day. The Medics proved similarly stagnant, and punted yet again; Page caught the kick, returning it several yards "almost to the starting point." The quarter ended with the ball in Farmer hands at midfield.

The telling of the fourth quarter begins with a 7-yard gain by Osborne before the Red and White were stymied another time, electing their first recorded punt of the day. VMC fumbled the punt, Phillips recovering the ball for the home team about 3-7 yards from their opponents' goal line. Unfortunately, the final scoring opportunity of the day went unrealized as the Medicos braced up to stuff the Farmers, forcing a turnover on downs. The Richmond team punted a final time for the day; Page caught the kick, but was injured during the return run, fumbling the ball. While Rice came in to substitute for Page, no further game action was described. The game ended with the ball in the Doctors' possession around midfield.

The game was universally decried as entirely uninteresting. While the heat was widely blamed for the lack of vigor shown, the News and Observer still noted that the Raleigh boys "lacked the ginger and pep expected by enthusiasts," adding that they "must improve very materially" if they hoped to make good on their season. The stars of the game were said to be Walker, Hedgepeth, and Schenk (though his accomplishments went unreported) for Virginia Medical College, and Anthony, Champion, Page, and Osborne for the North Carolinians (Red and White, Vol. 14 No. 2 (November 1912), pp. 95-96; News and Observer, October 13th, 1912, p. 29; Charlotte Observer, October 13th, 1912, p. 11; The Morning Star, October 13th, 1912, p. 2).

* The Charlotte Observer's game summary reported that Champion "crossed the [goal] line" on the 20-yard pass. Given that three of the other four game descriptions note a subsequent play, this was likely an error.

Despite the loss, things turned out alright for the Medics: they remembered it as "the turning point" in their career. "From this time henceforth," they recalled, their team "was destined to become one of the strongest aggregations in the South." This proved to be the Medics' final loss of the season: they went on to defeat William & Mary 66-to-nothing the following week, with subsequent road wins over Virginia Tech (10-0) and Wake Forest (23-14). They closed their season with a 13-0 victory over in-town rival University College of Medicine.

The latter game proved to be the school's final, as UCM and VCM were consolidated before the 1913 school year. It also proved to be the school's final win: as the 1913 and 1914 seasons will show, the combined schools, which merged as the Medical College of Virginia**, were somehow less successful in athletics together than they were separate. The Docs went 0-5 in 1913 before ducking their last three games, and performed similarly in 1914 following an 0-1-1 start which included a 0-65 lobotomy at the hands of North Carolina (X-Ray 1912, pp. 152-153; Danville Register, March 1st, 1912, p. 4; Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 30th, 1913, p. 12).

** The name Medical College of Virginia (MCV) was sporadically applied to VCM previously in an attempt to differentiate it from the University of Virginia's medical school. The school operated under that name until 1968, at which time they were merged once more -- this time with the Richmond Professional Institute -- to form Virginia Commonwealth University.