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Still smarting from their defeat a week ago, the Farmers did their best to put the blow-out behind them as they took the road for Charlotte and their first road game of the season, against Davidson. Long-time local rivals, the two had not met since 1908, when the Aggies won 21-0, though the reasons for the break have been lost to the sands of time.

Both teams had a single blemish on their record to this point in the season, with Davidson having fallen two weeks prior to North Carolina (0-13), but a strong showing otherwise, with wins over Westminster (a Presbyterian boys' school from Rutherfordton, NC) by a score of 30-0, and the Mount Pleasant Collegiate Institute by the baffling score of 125-0. Davidson's rooters noted that their team was lighter and faster than the Farmers, and had improved a great deal since their early-season loss to the Tar Heels. Notably, however, Davidson was without the services of Booe -- who was forbade by his seasonal employer, the Pittsburgh Baseball Club, after just three games -- and Richardson, who had broken his arm.

Despite Davidson's outlandish scores (and A&M's recent disheartening loss), the Red and White were considered the day's favored team. The Aggies also saw their lone loss of the season as a chance to steel their resolve, also noting that their core team was yet to be finalized. Additionally, Osborne, who was out of the Georgetown game with an injury, had returned to the fray (News and Observer, October 25th, 1912, p. 3; Wilmington Morning Star, October 25th, 1912, pp. 3, 8; Charlotte Evening Chronicle, October 25th, 1912, p. 1; Charlotte Observer, October 26th, 1912, p. 8).

The game, held on the last day of the Charlotte Fair, kicked off at 3:30 PM, with somewhere between 800 and 1,500 persons watching the game; weather was said to be ideal. As will be seen in the coming narrative, the game was replete with fumbles (Graham accounted for 6 on punts alone) and turnovers; it was also said to be unduly violent.

Davidson won the toss and elected to defend the east goal; Yates sent the pigskin to the A&M 20-yard line, where Rice caught the ball but was tackled by Todd. After failing to make a first down, the Farmers were forced to punt, Graham hauling in the ball for the Red Machine about midfield. Graham dashed for about 30 yards; this may be when The Wilmington Morning Star reporter (whose account was less complete than that of The Charlotte News, which forms the primary basis of this game summary) wrote that Graham "ran for a touchdown, but was called back for stepping out on the 10-yard line. At this juncture, reports differ slightly: The Charlotte News indicated that the Red and Black attempted their first of several forward passes; described it Raleigh papers as "poorly conceived and rottenly executed," it fell incomplete; The Wilmington Morning Star, on the other hand, noted that Yates attempted a drop kick for field goal, but failed. Regardless, the end result was a touchback, giving the Farmers the ball around the 20 yard line. After a series of "small gains" (including at least one first down), the Farmers punted oncemore; Graham made a "costly" fumble, presumably recovered by an A&M player. Perhaps in the same play, or perhaps a later one, Cosby delivered a hard tackle for a 10-yard loss, and another fumble forced, returning the ball to Red and Black hands somewhere on their side of the field. The very next play is reported to be yet another fumbled punt, this time bobbled by the Raleigh boys, putting the Presbyterians "within striking distance of the goal line." Davidson made two first downs, but lost the ball again on either an incomplete pass (Charlotte News or an interception (Wilmington Morning Star). Each team tried failed to execute a forward pass as the game's first quarter came to a close; scoreless, the Red and White had the ball somewhere between their own 10- and 35-yard line.

Not long after starting the second period, the Aggies punted, sending the ball to their opponents' 25-yard line; their, the wisdom of the era proved accurate: Graham lost the ball on yet another fumble. The gaffe was amplified by some bad bounces -- the ball was said to have rolled "almost the entire length of the field" -- giving the Farmers the ball somewhere between their opponents' 10- to 15-yard line. Keeping with the theme of the day, the ball changed hands oncemore, with the Farmers either fumbling (Charlotte News) or throwing an interception (Wilmington Morning News), giving Davidson possession at the 25-yard line. Davidson punted, but the Aggies bobbled another punt, which Cosby recovered on the A&M 30-yard line. After a series of undescribed plays resulting in more punts, the Farmers completed the day's first successful forward pass for little gain, if any. This time, Graham caught the punt, returning the pigskin 25 yards. On the next play, however, a Presbyterian player attempted a forward pass; this time, rather than falling incomplete, Graham's pass was intercepted by Cool, who "leaped high into the air... and then ran 60 yards around and through the entire Davidson team," stiff-arming two men in the process. Cool also completed an easy goal kick, earning all the points on the first recorded pick six in NC State football history.

A handful of unproductive punts by each team closed out the first half, which was composed of two 10-minute periods. (Wilmington Morning News reported the half lasted for just a single Red and White punt, but this seems less likely, since News and Observer noted Cool's touchdown took place "in the last few minutes of the first half.) Also around this time, Spencer entered the field of play, substituting for Cool. After a short break, festivities were renewed, this time with a pair of 12-minute halves.

Little of the third quarter was reported, though the lighter Presbyterians were said to start generally faltering. Davidson kicked off to the Red and White's 20-yard line. After receiving a 5 yard penalty for being offsides, the Farmers punted. Davidson made two first downs, but failed to do so a third time, turning the ball over on downs. Then came the Aggies' only real scoring opportunity on offense. Following an A&M gain of 15 on a forward pass and a run for 20 yards by Spencer (on a fake pass), Davidson's goal line was threatened, but the danger fizzled an incomplete pass resulted in a turnover and a touchback for Davidson. The only other play reported in the quarter was a 10-yard loss by Yates. The period closed with the ball in the hands of either the Red and White (on Davidson's 20-yard line) or the Red and Black (on their own 25-yard line).

The fourth quarter was the messiest of all, and was recorded in the broadest strokes. The first play specifically reported was a Davidson punt recovered by A&M, but stopped before ground could be gained. Not long later, Davidson intercepted an A&M forward pass; Todd made two first downs. Indicating the devolving and increasingly physical nature of the game, Hurtt and Peters were removed from the game around this time: Hurtt for slugging, and Peters for fighting. After the two teams exchanged punts, a Red Machine fumble put Davidson in danger, but the threat never materialized. Later on, emboldened by a spate of minor gains, the Presbyterians attempted another forward pass; it was reeled in by the Red and White. After an exchange of fumbles, the Aggies returned the favor, fumbling a completed forward pass which otherwise would've been a sure touchdown. The teams each tried once more for forward passes, but both fell complete, and the game ended with the ball in either A&M's hands, or Davidson's hands, around the Davidson 30-yard line.

Public opinion widely felt that Davidson played the better game on all accounts, and lost on a bad break -- the ball spent 33 minutes of the 44 minute game. Red and White explained that it was "simply an off day with our team." The only A&M player praised in accounts of the game was Cool, with Charlotte News going as far as saying "the balance of [the] team was many degrees under average." Spencer also got his flowers. For Davidson, the praise was split amongst Todd, Cosby, Yates, McQueen, and J. Howell. Graham was praised as amongst the team's best despite his penchance for fumbling. Perhaps part of the Red and White's lack of clear star was the frequency with which they substituted: Morton, Jeffries, Hudson, Spencer, and Hargrove -- as the papers noted, "Coach Green [sic] was forced to frequent substitutions, spending most of the game consumed between selecting new players and saying things to himself on the sideline" -- while Davidson swapped only Robinson, Witherington, and Fuller.

As noted previously, the game was widely condemned for its violence. As noted in Charlotte Observer, "The contest was rough -- even with the proper allowance for the game -- the style of play of the Farmers emphasizing this feature." News and Observer noted "Bad blood seemed to exist" and that "Quite a bit of holding was reported" (Charlotte News, October 27th, 1912, p. 10; Wilmington Morning Star, October 27th, 1912, p. 2; Charlotte Observer, October 27th, 1912, p. 3; News and Observer, October 27th, 1912, p. 11; Red and White, Vol. 14 No. 3 (December 1912), p. 168).

Davidson's season took a decided decline following their game against the Red and White. The following week, they traveled to Washington & Lee, where they were decimated 0-54. Two weeks later, they journeyed to Florida and Stetson (predating NC State's first trip to Raleigh -- 1927 -- by 15 years), where they lost 6-21. Their final game of the season was on Thanksgiving Day, when they visited Charlotte for the third time. They also notched their third win of the season, defeating Wake Forest 13-7 en route to a 3-4 record.