SEC football returns this weekend as No. 4 Texas A&M goes on the road to protect its perfect record against Arkansas in college football’s Week 8 action on Saturday. Here is the latest prediction for the game from an expert model that projects scores.

Texas A&M improved to 6-0 overall and is perfect through three games in SEC play, not allowing more than 17 points in any of its conference games and riding a stout defense that looked solid in a big win over Florida.

Arkansas may be 0-2 in SEC play and below .500 overall at 2-4 and undergoing a midseason coaching change, but is still playing some of the best statistical offense in the country, ranking top 20 in scoring, passing, and rushing, and No. 6 in total output.

What do the analytics suggest for when the Razorbacks welcome the Aggies this weekend?

For that, let’s turn to the SP+ prediction model to get a preview of how Texas A&M and Arkansas compare in this Week 8 college football game.

Predictably, the model is siding with the Aggies over the Hogs in this SEC clash.

SP+ predicts that Texas A&M will defeat Arkansas by a projected score of 34 to 25 and will win the game by an expected margin of 9.0 points in the process.

The model expects that the Aggies have a 71 percent chance of outright victory.

SP+ is a “tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency” that attempts to predict game outcomes by measuring “the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football.”

How good is it this season? So far, the SP+ college football prediction model is 175-177 against the spread with a 49.7 win percentage. Last week, it was 31-25 (55.4%) in its picks against the spread.

The betting markets are siding with the Aggies by more than a touchdown over the Razorbacks.

Texas A&M is a 7.5 point favorite against Arkansas, according to the updated game lines posted to FanDuel Sportsbook entering the weekend.

FanDuel lists the total at 61.5 points for the matchup.

And it set the moneyline odds for Texas A&M at -310 and for Arkansas at +250 to win outright.

The game’s implied score suggests that the Aggies will prevail against the Hogs, but by another close margin.

When taking the point spread and total into consideration, it’s implied that Texas A&M will defeat Arkansas by a projected score of 35 to 27.

Texas A&M’s defense is allowing just 12 points per game in SEC competition, but will be tested against a Razorbacks ground attack good for over 218 yards per game and more than 6 yards per carry from its backs.

But the Aggies have a potent downfield game led by quarterback Marcel Reed and should find plenty of room against an Arkansas secondary that ranks 116th this season allowing over 251 yards to opponents on average.

If you’re using this prediction to bet on the game, you should take…

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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