re: Mississippi should be good at football too.

The creme of the crop usually goes to perimeter states, then the leftovers get split. There is also a historically decent D-I football school in the southern part of the state in USM. Also, as good as the top end talent in the state is year to year, rural MS isn't exactly a beacon of public education.

In addition, Ole Miss and State don't have the alumni-bases and sidewalk fanbases that many other SEC schools have. The state isn't as enthralled with it as Alabama, for whatever reason.

If there was a single "flagship" university in Jackson, as there was a push to do years ago, it would be just as competitive as any other school in the conference. There is much more top end talent in MS than in Arkansas. Jackson would be a central location in the state and is considered the crossroads of the South, plus it would be a bigger city similar to Baton Rouge that would have a bigger draw and appeal. It would have all the potential in the world.