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.”

It’s state semifinal week for Missouri high school football.

Trips to next week’s state championship games in Columbia are on the line. All games across the state are scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

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Class 1

• St. Vincent @ Adrian (Saturday, 1 p.m.)
• Tipton @ Penney (Saturday, 1 p.m.)

Championship on Dec. 7 at 3 p.m.

Class 2

• Bowling Green @ Lamar (Saturday, 1 p.m.)
• Fair Grove @ South Shelby (Saturday, 2 p.m.)

Championship on Dec. 6 at 3 p.m.

Class 3

• Lift for Life @ Seneca (Saturday, 1 p.m.)
• Maryville @ Blair Oaks (Saturday, 1 p.m.)

Championship on Dec. 7 at 11 a.m.

Class 4

• Festus @ Warrenton (Saturday, 1 p.m.)
• Lutheran North @ Kearney (Saturday, 1 p.m.)

Championship on Dec. 6 at 11 a.m.

Class 5

• Lafayette (Wildwood) @ Helias Catholic (Saturday, 1 p.m.)
• MICDS @ Platte County (Saturday, 1 p.m.)

Championship on Dec. 7 at 7 p.m.

Class 6

• Kirkwood @ Nixa (Saturday, 1 p.m.)
• Liberty @ De Smet (Saturday, 1 p.m.)

Championship on Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.