Oxford is nestled among mature trees, some older than statehood, and not far from fertile Delta farmland.
It is a charming town and home of The Square and Ole Miss, a public university with the feel of a private school and country club rules.
An Ole Miss education is a strong one, and as a Southern state with deep roots in the SEC, Rebels football is a Saturday religion worshipped in The Grove -- where students brag of having never lost the party -- and on the field.
Ole Miss has been down more than up since Johnny Vaught retired in 1973. Since then, only one former head coach has had a winning record in SEC play, and that was David Cutcliffe, who for some reason was fired.
Vaught took Ole Miss to 18 bowls, but before current Coach Hugh Freeze -- who has led the Rebels to four consecutive bowls -- they had gone to only 15 since.
Freeze is the ninth coach since Vaught, but only he and Cutcliffe put some fear in SEC foes.
That's a little hard to fathom because Mississippi is a flowing fountain of talented recruits.
It ranks third in the country, per capita, for producing NFL players. A website shows almost 600 men from Mississippi have played in the NFL.
Names such as Jerry Rice, Brett Favre, L.C. Greenwood, Bruce James, Billy Cannon and Jimmie Giles are easily recognized, but there are dozens and dozens more who had long, productive professional careers.
Freeze has capitalized on the homegrown talent some, but he hasn't tried to build a fence around the state as he recruits nationally.
Since arriving at Ole Miss in December 2011 and enduring a transition recruiting class that ranked No. 41 and had just two 4-star recruits (one from Mississippi), the Rebels have ranked as high as No. 7 and as low as No. 21.
He has signed five 5-star players, none from Mississippi, and 34 4-star recruits, 18 of whom were born in the Magnolia State.
Freeze raised eyebrows and curiosity when his 2013 class included three 5-star players from three different states, none of which was Mississippi.
LaQuon Treadwell was from Illinois, Robert Nkemdiche was from Georgia and Laremy Tunsil was from Florida. Tunsil is the one who cast a shadow over the Rebels program on NFL Draft night, sliding to No. 13 after spending time as analyst Mel Kiper's No. 1 pick.
Tunsil, for whatever reason, said Ole Miss coaches gave him money.
An investigation is ongoing, and it must be serious because the investigators are looking hard at the women's basketball program.
There's a whole lot of little things that have been revealed, but as of now nothing major, and the football season has gone off pretty much as expected.
The Rebels are 3-2 but had chances to beat both Florida State and Alabama. They trounced Georgia 45-14 and beat Wofford and Memphis by as much as they needed.
Freeze is a longtime advocate of full-court pressure (hurry up and throw) on offense, and the Rebels have passed for 1,667 yards, but also rushed for 785. Running back Akeem Judd (56 carries, 302 yards) is a concern for the Razorbacks, but the key is to slow down quarterback Chad Kelly.
No one has stopped him yet. He's 115-for-174 passing for 1,596 yards with 13 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He's kept the ball 38 times for 124 yards and 1 touchdown.
Arkansas is looking to bounce back from a loss to Alabama, and when the Tide beat the Hogs last year, the Hogs went on to win four straight.
Should be a great atmosphere in Fayetteville, which is a bigger party than even The Grove every time the Hogs are home.
Sports on 10/13/2016