It’s no surprise that Illinois offensive coordinator Paul Petrino has rejoined his brother Bobby’s staff at Arkansas. But the timing of the move seems dubious with a bowl game still to be played. Why not stay and finish the job? Even worse for Illinois: There’s a chance Illinois could lose more assistants before the Illini’s Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl vs. UCLA on Dec. 31.

Week 13 of the NFL season is in the books, and Big Ten products compiled some impressive days. All season long, use our Big Ten NFL Stat Tracker to see how ex-Big Ten stars perform. Simply click on a player’s name, and the link will lead you to his NFL.com game log. Every Tuesday, Brent Yarina singles out the best offensive, defensive and special teams performances, plus links to their NFL.com highlights. See Brent’s Week 13 winners in this post.

Turns out a Big Ten single-season record 38 touchdowns is enough to garner an invite to New York City for the Heisman Trophy presentation. Wisconsin’s Montee Ball was named one of five finalists for the most prestigious award in college sports Monday night, the announcement coming live on ESPN by former Ohio State star and 1995 Heisman winner Eddie George. Alabama’s Trent Richardson, Baylor’s Robert Griffin III, LSU’s Tyrann Mathieu and Stanford’s Andrew Luck join Ball in NYC.

Nearly a month into the men’s hoops season, it’s clear the future of the Big Ten is in good hands. I say this because of the conference’s loaded sophomore class, one headlined by possible NBA departures Jared Sullinger and Tim Hardaway Jr.

It’s time to release my latest Big Ten men’s hoops power rankings. The rankings are not meant to mimic the Big Ten standings. What fun would that be? They aren’t scientific, either. They’re simply my thoughts on where each Big Ten team stands at that time. Agree? Disagree? Tweet @BTNBrentYarina or leave your comments below.