The SportsWire

#23Missouri at Arkansas

Prediction · week 9, 2026 · Sat Oct 31, 6:45 PM CT · Razorback Stadium

Updated Sun Oct 25, 5:13 PM CT

#23Missouri5-2
Upcoming
Arkansas3-4

Sat Oct 31, 6:45 PM CT · Razorback Stadium

MIZMissouri · 5-2 Sat Oct 31, 6:45 PM CT ARKArkansas · 3-4

75%Our win chance25%

Our win chance: Missouri 75% · Arkansas 25% · experimental, see how it is tested

Kickoff corrected (source: mutigers.com, checked Oct 21, 2026).

Model comparison

9 of 9 models favor Missouri

ModelSaysWin chance
SP+
Missouri +13.6 vs Arkansas -1.7 · week 8 ratings
Missouri by 12.8Missouri 82%
Elo
Missouri 1747 vs Arkansas 1515
Missouri by 6.8Missouri 69%
Our model · experimental
no snapshot for this game
n/a–
ESPN FPI
Missouri +12.3 vs Arkansas +2.2
Missouri by 7.6Missouri 71%
SRS
Missouri +11.6 vs Arkansas -0.4
Missouri by 9.5Missouri 75%
Sagarin
Missouri +82.9 vs Arkansas +73.5
Missouri by 5.6Missouri 66%
Sonny Moore
Missouri +83.3 vs Arkansas +67.0
Missouri by 12.3Missouri 81%
The Margin
The Margin's model
Missouri by 11.1Missouri 79%
Record
Arkansas 3-4, Missouri 5-2
Missouri (better record)–
Market
the market's pregame margin
Missouri by 10Missouri 76%

Each margin is from the same weekly ratings the team pages use: SP+ and Elo from their rating gap, the home team given 2.5 points (none at a neutral site); Our model is this site's experimental rating; Market is the margin the market expected before kickoff; ESPN FPI, SRS, Sagarin and Sonny Moore are rating gaps like SP+'s (each with its own home field), The Margin is that site's own model, and Record names the team with the better record (the home team on equal records). How these work ›

Matchup efficiency

Efficiency matchup · season to date · Arkansas 7 games, Missouri 7 games

Edge: Missouri wins 3 of 5

Missouri stops plays better, is more disruptive and has the edge on big plays. Arkansas moves the ball better and allows fewer big plays.

Arkansaslonger bar = betterMissouri
  • 43%✓ Moves the ballsuccessful plays 41%
  • 43% Stops playssuccessful plays allowed ✓35%
  • 13% Disruptionsacks, TFLs, turnovers ✓20%
  • 1.05 Big playson offense ✓1.31
  • 1.19✓ Big plays allowedon defense 1.39

Run game, head to head · season to date

Arkansas's runs work 41% of the time; Missouri's run defense allows 35%. Missouri's runs work 36% of the time; Arkansas's run defense allows 47%.

More numbers
MeasureArkansasMissouriEdge
Off. success rate43.4%41.2%Arkansas
Off. explosiveness1.051.31Missouri
Def. success rate allowed43.2%35.1%Missouri
Def. explosiveness allowed1.191.39Arkansas
Havoc created13.2%19.5%Missouri
  • Run game, success rate: Arkansas offense 41.3% · Missouri defense allows 35.3% · edge: Missouri
  • Run game, success rate: Missouri offense 36.5% · Arkansas defense allows 47.0% · edge: even
  • Run game, PPA per play: Arkansas offense -0.02 · Missouri defense allows -0.02 · edge: Missouri
  • Run game, PPA per play: Missouri offense +0.03 · Arkansas defense allows +0.23 · edge: Missouri
  • Success rate: how often a play does its job, gaining enough yards to keep the offense on schedule.
  • Explosiveness: how big a team's successful plays are on average; a higher number means more big gains.
  • Havoc: how often the defense blows up a play with a sack, a tackle for loss, a takeaway or a pass broken up.
  • PPA (predicted points added): how many points an average play is worth to the offense; above zero is good for the offense, below zero good for the defense.

How to read this

  • Each row compares the two teams on one measure of how well they have played this season, offense and defense, using every game so far with garbage time (plays late in a decided game) left out.
  • The run game rows pair one team's rushing offense with the other's run defense. The row goes to whichever side is further from the FBS baseline this season, the offense by how far it runs above it, the defense by how much less it allows (baseline: run success rate 43%, PPA per play +0.08, the midpoint of what FBS offenses gain and FBS defenses allow, since both also play FCS teams), so two strong sides or two weak ones are judged by which is the more so. Edges within 3 points of success rate or 0.05 PPA are even. A strong run offense against a weak run defense is where a team can control the game on the ground.
  • In the five rows at the top the longer bar is the better number: bars are scaled within each row, and in the two "allowed" rows the lower number gets the longer bar.
  • Success rate is the share of plays that kept the offense on schedule (half the yards needed on first down, most of them on second, all of them on third or fourth). Explosiveness is how big the successful plays were, on average, in points. Havoc is the share of the opponent's snaps the defense wrecked: a tackle for loss, a sack, a takeaway or a pass broken up.
  • "Allowed" rows are what each defense gave up, so the lower value wins.
  • These are not adjusted for who each team has played, so a light schedule flatters a team, and early in the season they rest on very few games.
  • Metrics explained: success rate, explosiveness and havoc ›

The prediction

All 9 models favor Missouri (SP+ from the week 8 snapshot).

Our call posts Monday when this week's ratings are set.

SP+ has Missouri by 12.8, Elo has Missouri by 6.8, ESPN FPI has Missouri by 7.6, SRS has Missouri by 9.5, Sagarin has Missouri by 5.6, Sonny Moore has Missouri by 12.3, The Margin has Missouri by 11.1, and Market has Missouri by 10.0. They are within 7.2 points of each other.

Last 5 meetings

Missouri leads 13–4 · last: Missouri 31–17, 2025 · Missouri has won 4 straight

SeasonResultSite
2025Missouri 31–17Razorback Stadium
2024Missouri 28–21Memorial Stadium
2023Missouri 48–14Razorback Stadium
2022Missouri 29–27Memorial Stadium
2021Arkansas 34–17War Memorial Stadium (AR)

Team pages