The weeks leading up to football season are always a time of looking forward to the impending season with hope and optimism. However, it also a good time to temper expectations, which is exactly what we’re going to do today. It’s time to embrace our Northwestern fandom and be realistic about the upcoming season.

Here are five reasons to be pessimistic about the 2016 campaign.

1. October

You’ve heard a lot about Northwestern’s schedule in the month of October during our preparation for the season and that’s no coincidence, it’s really difficult.