Thanks, Big T(elev)en.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yzXFYNVVmWw

Some “Pros:”

1) Playoff - IMO, this is a step in the eventual [think decade] process of adding another team to the Big T[elev]en Conference and then implementing a conference championship.
2) Recuperation - For a few years at least (assuming that we will eventually have a conference championship, too) as long as the Bye Week can be scheduled in the latter half of the season, it would likely allow for players’ health to improve… which is good because (a) no one sincerely wants them to be physically incapacitated, and (b) it could provide that chance for extra recovery time so that we can possibly decrease the “excuse” of “…Yeah, but the outcome of the game would’ve been different if some of our key players were healthy…” And yes, I know this is football, where everyone has to put in the hard, consistent work to be properly conditioned and physically resilient… I don’t think a Bye Week will help those who aren’t already in top condition (let alone those who experienced drastic injuries).
3) Perception - In the court of public opinion, the Big Ten has been maligned of late. Therefore, this helps our conference achieve more “perceptual parity” insomuch as we won’t seem to have ended our season and stopped playing “way before” other conferences with championship games. Again, in the public relations strategy for the Big Ten, I feel this has to happen… including ultimately adding another team and a conference championship game.
4) Preparation - Provides twice as long to prepare for the post-Bye Week opponent.

“Some Cons:”

1) Family Time - Having to play on Thanksgiving weekend would decrease the amount of quality family time the players and staff (not to mention the entire Buckeye Nation) experience during that holiday. That being said, other conferences/teams are already doing thusly, so I guess now it’s our time to experience that, too.
2) Momentum - This could dampen the sense of being “on a roll” if a team gets “hot” right before their Bye Week. Conversely, teams (mostly the fans) will have twice as long to mull over a loss that precedes a Bye Week.

On a personal note, I remember the 2001 edition of “The Game” well… I think my wife [my "girlfriend" back then] and I shocked and/or slightly offended some of my relatives (most of the family was supportive and even enthusiastic, though, because we “warned them” ahead of time to properly set expectations) when we opened the doors into the family room so we could view the TV from the dining room during an early-in-the-day holiday meal with the extended family.

Go Bucks!
-scaples

As for Oden……here is another of my favorite quotes

“The city is nice. The only thing is, they don’t have any Wal-Marts near my house. I go to Best Buy or Target, but those places are pretty expensive.” — Greg Oden, No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft by the Trail Blazers, on his adjustment to living in Portland.