CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- No one could have seen this coming.That is, except Howard Schnellenberger.Miami was the epitome of mediocre in the 1970s, spending only six weeks of that decade as a nationally ranked team. The Hurricanes best single-season record in those 10 years was only 6-5. They went through seven coaches in the decade, and went to zero bowl games. And their record against ranked teams in that stretch was a putrid 4-32.I think its evident, Schnellenberger said, that there was room for improvement.And how.Led by Schnellenberger, who went from sounding slightly overzealous when he got hired at Miami and talked about winning a national title to sounding totally prophetic when he made it happen. With three national titles in the 1980s -- all under different coaches, each of whom had a role in planting the seeds for what became five titles in a 19-season stretch -- the Hurricanes owned the decade.They werent in the most Associated Press football polls in the 1980s, nor did they have the most wins.But they were the only team with three titles in the decade, and in the words of Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, they accomplished something even more meaningful.What we did then still holds up, said Irvin, a Hurricanes legend whose son now plays at Miami. The University of Miami changed the game of college football in the 1980s.They were bold and brash, too much for many pundits. It was national news when they got off the plane for the Fiesta Bowl at the end of the 1986 season wearing military fatigues. Miami wasnt exactly an endearing city at that time, probably best known in those days for what people were seeing on Miami Vice more than anything else.The Hurricanes changed that.Georgia, Clemson, Penn State, BYU, Oklahoma and Notre Dame also won titles during the 1980s, but no one got more than Miamis three (and it could have easily been more). They had some help -- the first two national titles were won in what essentially were home games at the Orange Bowl, and the 1983 crown likely wouldnt have been theirs at all if Nebraska hadnt gone for a 2-point conversion late in what became Miamis 31-30 championship-securing win over the Cornhuskers.The biggest win in the history of our program, said former Miami offensive line coach Art Kehoe.How different were the 1980s from the 1970s for Miami?In the `70s, the Hurricanes record was 42-67.In the `80s, it was 99-20. Their worst record in that decade -- 8-5 in Jimmy Johnsons first season, 1984 -- topped their best record from any season in the previous decade.Its a blessing. It really is, Irvin said. It is amazing, amazing when you step back and think about it.BEST PROGRAMSNebraska appeared in 98.76 percent of all polls taken.Oklahoma, 85.09 percent.Alabama, 81.37 percent.(Notable: Miami won three national titles in the decade, Penn State won two, and yet neither appeared in as many polls as the Cornhuskers, Sooners or Crimson Tide.)BEST RIVALRYMiami-Notre Dame. In 1985, there was the 58-7 Hurricane romp that brought the Gerry Faust era in South Bend to a most unceremonious end. In 1988, there was the so-called Catholics vs. Convicts matchup, a game where Notre Dame won 31-30 and Miami fans still insist that Cleveland Gary scored on a play that was ruled a fumble at the Irish 1. In 1989, there was Miamis 3rd-and-43 conversion for a first down. Theres deeper-rooted rivalries all over college football, but in the `80s Irish vs. Hurricanes was appointment television.MAIN TAKEAWAYThere were plenty of great seasons turned in by teams in the 1980s -- Georgia (1980), Clemson (1981), BYU (1984), Penn State (1986), Miami (1987) and Notre Dame (1988) all went unbeaten. But even while Nebraska and Oklahoma were consistently strong, it was Miami that went from also-rans to pariah almost overnight. The Hurricanes success helped further open South Floridas fertile recruiting grounds as well, since most schools were quick studies in figuring out that players from the Miami area were largely the backbone of the schools rapid rise.---Online:More on the APs Top 100 retrospective: http://collegefootball.ap.org/ap-poll-all-time Air Max 90 Cheap Outlet . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. Air Force 1 Cheap Outlet . In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. http://www.cheapshoesstorewholesale.com/ . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Stan Smith Store . JOHNS, N. Air Max 90 Clearance Sale . JOHNS, N. HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Carl Edwards detests social media.He prefers his followers have sharpies and photos instead of egg avatars and his only likes are NASCAR victory celebrations.I enjoy normal, social interaction, Edwards said. Its hard once you get down the path of social media.Edwards recalled a time his brother handed him a phone and insisted he read Brad Keselowskis tweets. Keselowski, who has tweeted from his car during a race, was the first NASCAR media darling on the social network. He uses his 140-character forum as a bully pulpit, and Edwards was curious.It was like a time warp, he said. I handed the phone back an hour later. I went across the entire Twitter-verse. I feel like life is short. I dont want to spend it staring at my phone.Edwards is willing to make a notable exception to his blackout and deal with the scrolling and trolling of the digital age under one condition: If he leaves Homestead-Miami Speedway as the champ.Thats right. Edwards will end his holdout and join Twitter should he win the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.Ill no longer be Twitter-less Carl, he said.NASCAR champ seems like a pretty cool line in a Twitter bio.The title has eluded Edwards in 12 full seasons at the Cup level. He finished third in his rookie season of 2005 and is a two-time series runner-up -- though his stinging loss to Tony Stewart on a tiebreak in 2011 has gone down as the greatest finale finish in the Chase era.The 37-year-old Edwards can ease some of that disappointment if he defeats six-time champion Jimmie Johnson, 2015 champ Kyle Busch and Joey Logano on Sunday and brings home the trophy for owner Joe Gibbs. The first to finish out of the four contenders is the 2016 champion.With the way everyones been running with this group, I think youre going to have to win the race, Edwards said.Under the best-finish format the last two years, Kevin Harvick and Busch did indeed clinch their championships with a victory at Homestead. The statistics say Edwards may have the best shot. He won Homestead in 2008 and 2010 and his 9.2 average finish at the track is the best of the four drivers.This is the best opportunity Ive had in a long time, Edwards said.Hed have to stretch back five years for his head-to-head showdown with Stewart to find a better one.Edwards, then driving for Jack Roush, had seemingly checked all the boxes needed to win a championship. He started the race with a three-point lead in the standings, and did everything he could from the minute he arrived in Florida. His Roush Fenway Raciing team put his Ford on the pole, he led a race-high 119 of the 267 laps and still finished second to Stewart.ddddddddddddtewart and Edwards finished tied in the final Sprint Cup Series points standings -- a first in NASCAR history -- and Stewart took the tiebreaker based on his five victories to Edwards one.Those couple of weeks leading up, I could tell Tony and those guys were on a roll, Edwards said. It was the most fun Id had in racing since Ive been in NASCAR. Everything we did, every lap, every qualifying session, every pit stop mattered. It was real easy to focus.Edwards also insisted he wasnt rattled by Stewarts trash-talking in the lead-up to the race. Stewart, who retires from NASCAR on Sunday, agitated Edwards with a series of verbal jabs at the championship press conferences.Stewart told Edwards he could visit the Cup trophy at the victors banquet in Las Vegas and that hed talk to his hero A.J. Foyt after we win on Sunday. Edwards says he was simply outdueled by the better car on the track, not by barbs on a dais.I knew as soon as Tony started talking trash, I knew he was giving 100 percent effort, Edwards said. He knew what it was going to take. He was putting everything out there that he could. That made it really special. I feel like I got to race Tony at his absolute best. I could tell how much it meant to him to win that championship.Edwards recently gave his helmet from the race to Stewart as a retirement gift.It was neat to see how excited he was about it, Edwards said. If thats something that was important to him, really special to him, I was really happy to be able to do that for him.Edwards won this season in the No. 19 Toyota at Bristol, Richmond and then a rain-shortened Chase race at Texas that clinched him a berth in the title race. Edwards is in his first season paired with crew chief Dave Rogers, and the two will have to fend off JGR teammate Busch and crew chief Adam Stevens to win.We try to help each other and we talked about it, Rogers said. This is a scenario we talked about long before this race. How do we race? Once we get to that final race, how do we race, and our agreement all year was nothing changes.Because of that rain at Texas, Edwards failed to perform his traditional victory backflip off the car. Hes ready for a leap into the NASCAR record book.Thatll be a fun backflip to do, he said.And then would come the plunge on Twitter. ' ' '