As the new week begins and we look towards the rest of the season, I know things are bleak right now. And I'm not here to suggest that you all buck up because things are going to get better. They could, I suppose, but the scales are probably tipping more towards the not-so-good season direction right now. My point here?

Keep supporting these guys.

I know, it probably sounds counterintuitive. I know a lot of you are seriously pissed right now. I know many of you are simply done with this current iteration of Purdue football. There were some who were done with Danny Hope last year, there were some who said he deserved another chance but the leash was short; and then there was the camp that said he deserved more time, period. As of now, I think most of those who were on the fence are now in agreement that the direction is not showing positive signs -- to say the least.

I understand that many of you may want to express your displeasure by not showing up, not making the effort to get to games and so forth. And if that is how you wish to do it, I cannot stop you and, frankly, I don't have the right to try to.

That said, I want to implore you to reconsider.

Purdue does not have many advantages in the Big Ten. Home field is not all that intimidating, we don't "look the other way" on violations and getting prime talent to Purdue can be a challenge. To add a downright poor atmosphere will certainly not help things. The commit Purdue got after the MTSU game said it felt like a family atmosphere -- that's a good thing. And it's something we can all contribute to.

However, more important (to me, at least) is supporting the current players. You may not like the coaching staff, you may not agree with the athletic department's direction, BUT...these guys chose to come to Purdue, to wear the black and old gold (or, you know, all white) and to play in front of all of us. They are our guys. And they've been working towards this season for many months -- and in the case of the upperclassmen, many years.

They lift, they train, the practice in the spring, they practice in the Indiana August heat, they study film, they learn game plans, they try to follow game plans, they put forth effort.... and they go to school. And the seniors are now in danger of not going to a bowl game in their entire time at Purdue -- something else that hasn't happened to a class since the bad ole days of the early '90s. These guys work hard, whether the record winds up reflecting it or not. Abandoning them with ten games to go seems unreasonable to me. But again, that's just one fella's opinion.

If you want to go to Ross-Ade and boo the coaches or Morgan Burke, I say have at it. Those guys are paid (handsomely, in some cases) and are big boys and deserve to be held to a higher standard. But the players? They're still giving effort as far as I can tell and the difficult parts of the season haven't even begun yet. In my humble opinion, they still deserve your support and to hear encouragement and cheers. No, they're not children, but they are your guys.

I think we should all let them know we still support them.