RJ's Five Spot: College football teams trying to regain footing

These teams all were in the Associated Press preseason top 25. Now, they're just trying salvage their seasons:

1. Miami, Fla. (5-4, 2-3 ACC): The Hurricanes were the preseason No. 8, but they sit in next-to-last place in the ACC Coastal and have lost their past three games. A 33-17 loss to Louisiana State in the opener was telling.

2. Wisconsin (6-3, 4-2): The preseason No. 4 team with College Football Playoff hopes, the Badgers still have an outside chance to win the Big Ten West. Losses by 25 points to Michigan and 14 to Northwestern suggest that won't happen.

3. Penn State (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten): Picked No. 10 to start the season, the Nittany Lions had Big Ten title aspirations. But a 35-point loss at Michigan last week showed how far they've fallen. They can salvage something with a win over Wisconsin on Saturday.

4. Stanford (5-4, 3-3 Pac-12): The Cardinal, No. 13 in the preseason poll, was expected to push Washington for the Pac-12 North title. Instead, Stanford has lost four of five. Standout running back Bryce Love's ankle injury hasn't helped.

5. Florida State (4-5, 2-5): A 24-3 home loss to Virginia Tech showed that the Seminoles, ranked No. 19 in the preseason poll, weren't back yet. Their five losses are by an average of 22.6 points; they have Notre Dame on Saturday.

Randy Johnson