ST. LOUIS (MBU) – The John Mason Peck Institute at Missouri Baptist University has awarded its first Fellow Scholarship to Michael T. Byrd Sr. in conjunction with the Missouri Baptist Foundation. The award was presented by Dr. Keith Ross, president of MBU; Dr. Neil Franks, president and treasurer of the Missouri Baptist Foundation; and Dr. Aaron Lumpkin, associate vice president for Spiritual Formation and assistant professor of Theology.

The John Mason Peck Institute at MBU exists to equip the next generation of Christian leaders who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Christian Ministry, offering workshops, mentorship opportunities and scholarships. MBU partners with the Missouri Baptist Foundation, a ministry dedicated to allocating financial assets for ministry partners through redemptive investing, to sponsor John Mason Peck Institute scholarship opportunities.

“President Ross and I are thankful for the partnership with the Missouri Baptist Foundation. This wouldn’t be possible without the Foundation’s support. And I couldn’t think of a better recipient of the first Fellow Scholarship in the Peck Institute than Michael Byrd,” said Dr. Aaron Lumpkin. “Pastor Byrd is a leader in our community, helping advance the good news of Jesus Christ across our city through church planting, discipleship and mentorship. We’re delighted to have him complete his degree at MBU and for him to be a part of the MBU community,” Lumpkin added.

Michael T. Byrd Sr. received the John Mason Peck Institute Fellow Scholarship for his ministry impact in St. Louis. Byrd is pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Christian Ministry while serving as pastor of Faith Community Bible Church in Jennings, Mo. In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, he is the Send City Missionary for St. Louis with the Send Network, the church-planting arm of the North American Mission Board. Byrd also oversees the Faithful Men Network, which seeks to connect with and encourage inner city pastors for mission and gospel partnerships. Byrd and his wife, Traci, have four children.

Missouri Baptist University is a Christ-centered university located in St. Louis. MBU offers more than 40 undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees in education, business and religion and the Doctor of Education. MBU offers degree programs at regional learning centers throughout the St. Louis metro area and online. For more information, visit www.mobap.edu or call 1-877-434-1115.

Missouri football has been bowl eligible for more than a month, securing the eligibility-sealing sixth win back on Oct. 19 against Auburn.

With two wins and two losses since then, an 8-3 overall record, and with Arkansas on Saturday at home left on the schedule, the Tigers’ potential bowl destinations have narrowed. The College Football Playoff dream is shot; the Citrus Bowl is likely just out of reach; the lower-tier bowls are in the rearview.

Mizzou, as the Tribune noted Saturday after the Tigers’ win over Mississippi State, is likely to fall into one of the six aptly named, SEC-affiliated Pool of Six bowls. 

Those, ordered by date, are as follows:

The Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 27, Las Vegas); the Liberty Bowl (Dec. 27, Memphis, Tenn.); the Music City Bowl (Dec. 30, Nashville, Tenn.); the Texas Bowl (Dec. 31, Houston); the ReliaQuest Bowl (Dec. 31, Tampa, Fla.); and the Gator Bowl (Jan. 2, Jacksonville, Fla.).

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So, where will it be? Mizzou won’t have an answer until Dec. 8, when ESPN will hold a live selection show. Here is where the national media has Missouri projected to play its bowl game. 

Hint: Jacksonville and Vegas are popular landing spots.

Action Network: Missouri football vs. Louisville in Gator Bowl 

Brett McMurphy of Action Network has Missouri projected to play Louisville in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 2 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. 

Louisville is 7-4 this season with a 5-3 mark in ACC play, which will fall short of making the conference title game. The Cardinals have a nonconference game against Kentucky to close the season.

Mizzou has not played in the Gator Bowl since 1968, when coach Dan Devine’s Tigers knocked off the legendary Bear Bryant’s Alabama, 35-10.

ESPN: Las Vegas Bowl vs. USC, Gator Bowl vs. Louisville

Mark Schlabach of ESPN also has the Tigers facing Louisville in the Gator Bowl in his updated bowl projections.

His colleague Kyle Bonagura, however, has Missouri heading west to face USC in the Las Vegas Bowl, which is played on Dec. 27 at Allegiant Stadium in Sin City.

USC became bowl-eligible Saturday night by beating UCLA on the road and getting its sixth win of the season. The Trojans close their season against Notre Dame on Saturday in Los Angeles.

USA Today: Las Vegas Bowl vs. USC

Erick Smith of USA Today also is sending Mizzou to the desert to play Southern California.

Missouri has never played a bowl game in Las Vegas. The last time Mizzou played USC was in 1977, when the Tigers lost 27-10 in Columbia.

CBS Sports: Music City Bowl vs. Michigan

Jerry Palm of CBS Sports hasn’t wavered on his projection for Mizzou in multiple weeks: It’s the Music City Bowl vs. reigning national champion Michigan on Dec. 30 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Wolverines became bowl eligible on Saturday by hammering Northwestern 50-6 at home. Coached by Sherrone Moore, Michigan has just ‘The Game’ to play in the regular season, as it heads to Columbus, Ohio, to face Ohio State this upcoming Saturday.

Mizzou has never made it all the way to the Music City Bowl. The Tigers were scheduled to play Iowa in the 2020 edition of the bowl game, but the game was canceled due to the pandemic.

If this projection plays out, it would be the second straight year Missouri has played a Big Ten bigwig in its bowl game, as the Tigers defeated Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl last season.

Average gasoline prices in Missouri have risen 7.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.74 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 3,940 stations in Missouri.

However, prices in Missouri are 6.7 cents per gallon lower than they were a month ago and stand 11.7 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to a news release from GasBuddy. The national average price of diesel has declined 1.3 cents in the last week and stands at $3.503 per gallon.

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Missouri was priced at $2.34 per gallon on Sunday, while the most expensive was $3.69 per gallon.

The cheapest gas in Columbia was priced at $2.69 per gallon on Monday, according to GasBuddy’s website. Jefferson City’s cheapest gas was priced at $2.64 per gallon.

St. Louis gas prices have risen 13.4 cents per gallon from last week with gas prices currently at $2.91 per gallon, according to GasBuddy. Kansas City gas prices have risen 10 cents per gallon, and gas prices are approximately $2.75 per gallon.

The national average price of gasoline has fallen 1.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.01 per gallon Monday. The national average is down 11.2 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 23.7 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.

“Ahead of Thanksgiving, motorists continue to be teased by the prospect of a $2.99 per gallon national average, a level now seen in 32 states. But for the last few weeks, the stars just haven’t quite aligned,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in the news release.

De Haan said in the release that Russia’s threats after Ukraine used long-range U.S. missiles have contributed to a hike in oil prices.

“Now, some promotions ahead of Thanksgiving are pushing gas prices back down, even as oil remains elevated,” De Haan said in the release. “For now, we’re just pennies away from the national average falling to $2.99, but for a third year, we may again fall short. As Americans prepare to hit the road for Thanksgiving, we’re seeing the lowest national average price of gasoline since 2021, with a far better economic picture than when gas prices were last this low.”