It seems reasonable to bring this up every year, particularly when our next opponent is coming off of a bye week.
Logic Says:
Teams that get a week of rest and an entire extra week to prepare have an advantage over their opponent because their opponent didn't get the extra rest or time to prepare.
Reality Says:
Bye weeks seem to hurt more than they help. Since 2002 (to 2010*), teams of the six BCS conferences have an overall win pct of 0.480 when coming off of a bye week. The Big Ten teams in particular struggle when coming off of a bye. From 2002-2010* Big Ten teams are a combined 17-32 when coming off of a bye. This is good for a 0.35 win pct.
Notables:
Ohio State went 56-10 in Big Ten play from 2002-2010* but was 1-3 when facing a conference opponent after a bye. This includes their 2004 loss to Northwestern, their only loss to the Wildcats since 1971
Penn State and Iowa are also 1-3 when coming off of bye weeks and playing conference opponents
37 of the 65 major-conference teams have a losing post-bye week record.
Edit:
Under Mark Dantonio, MSU has a 1-1 record coming off of a bye week
In 2008, they lost to PSU 14-49
In 2010, they beat Purdue 35-31
[*This information was summarized from this article, read the full version from the Wall Street Journal; info current through Oct. 14, 2010]