We interrupt this optimistic time of year for some pessimism.

The preseason AP Top 25 is out and college football fans all over the country can dream about how this year it all comes together for their team.

Teams that begin the season ranked can be hopeful — but maybe curb your enthusiasm.

After 2021 and ’22 produced record turnover in the rankings from start to finish, last year was one of the chalkiest of the 2000s: 17 teams that started the season ranked finished it that way, the most since 2019.

Still, there was plenty of disappointment to go around. Reality Check kicks off the season pondering how things can go wrong for each team in the preseason Top 25.

No. 1 Georgia

Opener: vs. No. 14 Clemson in Atlanta, Aug. 31.

Reality check: The roster is too stacked to realistically consider the Bulldogs becoming just the second team to be No. 1 in the preseason Top 25 and finish unranked (USC in 2012). However, three road games against top-six teams raises the degree of difficulty substantially from recent years.

Ranking: Just right. No. 2 Ohio State

Opener: vs. Akron, Aug. 31.

Reality check: The Buckeyes have a lot riding on a QB (Will Howard) who was never better than second-team Big 12 in four seasons at Kansas State.

Ranking: The Buckeyes are the only other viable choice for No. 1, but this is fine. No. 3 Oregon

Opener: vs. Idaho, Aug. 31.

Reality check: The Ducks plugged defensive holes through the portal. It looks pretty good on paper but how the newbies gel is critical.

Ranking: The Ducks buzz seems aggressive. No. 4 Texas

Opener: vs. Colorado State, Aug. 31.

Reality check: Texas is back after the Longhorns’ playoff run, but the best part of a solid defense last year were two game-wrecking interior linemen (Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat). Without them, transition to the SEC could exhibit growing pains.

Ranking: Could be No. 3. No. 5 Alabama

Opener: vs. Western Kentucky, Aug. 31.

Reality check: Replacing the greatest coach of all time has to come with some regression. Just how much can Kalen DeBoer limit it?

Ranking: Even without Nick Saban, the Tide gets the benefit of the doubt. No. 6 Mississippi

Opener: vs. Furman, Aug. 31.

Reality check: Lane Kiffin has already warned that his team of portal All-Stars needs to be more than just a flashy assemblage of individual talent.

Ranking: Are the Rebels underrated? No. 7 Notre Dame

Opener: at No. 20 Texas A&M, Aug. 31.

Reality check: An inexperienced offensive line plus a new QB plus a new play-caller. That’s a lot of new stuff that needs to work.

Ranking: Little high. No. 8 Penn State

Opener: at West Virginia, Aug. 31.

Reality check: The Nittany Lions enter another season hoping for a No. 1 receiver (maybe Ohio State transfer Julian Fleming?) to emerge for QB Drew Allar.

Ranking: About right. No. 9 Michigan

Opener: vs. Fresno State, Aug. 31.

Reality check: The Wolverines’ offense is almost a complete rebuild, starting at QB where third-year player Alex Orji has thrown just one pass in his career.

Ranking: Too high for so much turnover. No. 10 Florida State

Opener: vs. Ga. Tech in Dublin, Ireland, Aug. 24.

Reality check: The Seminoles returned to the field of elite teams last season. The next test for coach Mike Norvell is sustainability after saying goodbye to the core of that team.

Ranking: Too low. No. 11 Missouri

Opener: vs. Murray State, Aug. 29.

Reality check: The Tigers look headed for a regression. Remember, an 11-win season that ended with a bowl victory against Ohio State started with three September victories by a total of 14 points.

Ranking: Too high. No. 12 Utah

Opener: vs. Southern Utah, Aug. 29.

Reality check: Conventional wisdom says the return of QB Cam Rising and TE Brant Kuithe from knee injuries will have the Utes’ offense humming again. After missing an entire season, that is probably not a given.

Ranking: About right. No. 13 LSU

Opener: vs. No. 23 USC in Las Vegas, Sept. 1.

Reality check: The Tigers are replacing a Heisman-winning QB, two receivers drafted in the first round and their coordinator. Even if the defense improves — and it better — that’s a potentially huge dropoff on offense.

Ranking: Too low. No. 14 Clemson

Opener: vs. No. 1 Georgia in Atlanta, Aug. 31.

Reality check: Coach Dabo Swinney is banking on the second season of QB Cade Klubnik as a starter in coordinator Garrett Riley’s scheme to fix an offense that has ranked 103rd, 72nd and 98th in the country in yards per play the last three seasons.

Ranking: Little high. No. 15 Tennessee

Opener: vs. Chattanooga, Aug. 31.

Reality check: Nothing like the promise of a five-star QB to raise expectations. Vols fans are fired up for Nico Iamaleava, surrounded by a strong supporting cast, but growing pains often come with first-year starters.

Ranking: Too low. No. 16 Oklahoma

Opener: vs. Temple, Aug. 30.

Reality check: Substitute Jackson Arnold for Iamaleava and add a transition to the SEC and there is plenty of reason for skepticism.

Ranking: Just right. No. 17 Oklahoma State

Opener: vs. South Dakota State, Aug. 31.

Reality check: Coming off a 10-win season with one of the most experienced rosters in the country, what could go wrong? Plenty for a team that reached the Big 12 title game with one of the nation’s worst defenses.

Ranking: Too high. No. 18 Kansas State

Opener: vs. UT Martin, Aug. 31.

Reality check: Another team preparing to unleash a second-year five-star QB in Avery Johnson. Transition elsewhere on offense and at coordinator could hinder a breakout.

Ranking: Too low. No. 19 Miami

Opener: at Florida, Aug. 31.

Reality check: Third-year coach Mario Cristobal is coming off two seasons of underwhelming results but with a roster built for a breakout. Do Cristobal and his staff have the ability to bring it all together?

Ranking: Little low. No. 20 Texas A&M

Opener: vs. No. 7 Notre Dame, Aug. 31.

Reality check: After three straight seasons of underachievement under Jimbo Fisher, the Aggues’ expectations are more modest this season and the roster is pretty tantalizing. But it’s one thing to flip a program’s fortunes in the ACC — as coach Mike Elko quickly did at Duke. It’s quite another to do it in this SEC.

Ranking: Too high. No. 21 Arizona

Opener: vs. New Mexico, Aug. 31.

Reality check: New coach Brent Brennan held on to QB Noah Fifta and WR Tetairoa McMillan, but the coaching transition will make it tough to sustain last season’s leap.

Ranking: About right. No. 22 Kansas

Opener: vs. Lindenwood, Aug. 31.

Reality check: The Jayhawks have a lot riding on the health of QB Jalon Daniels, who’s been limited to 12 games the last two seasons.

Ranking: Too high. No. 23 USC

Opener: vs. LSU in Las Vegas, Sept. 1.

Reality check: Will a massive overhaul to the coaching staff fix the defense? Lincoln Riley has a lot to prove.

Ranking: Too high. No. 24 North Carolina State

Opener: vs. Western Carolina, Aug. 29

Reality check: For the second straight year, the Wolfpack bring in a dual-threat transfer QB to perk up the offense. It didn’t work last year. Will it be different with Grayson McCall?

Ranking: Too high. No. 25 Iowa

Opener: vs. Illinois State, Aug. 31.

Reality check: The offense has to get better, right? Right?

Ranking: Just right.