2 winners, 2 losers and a mixed bag in Miami's 52-23 blowout win over Pitt

The Miami Hurricanes had no issues in their first regular-season game in nearly 25 years as the No. 1 team in the country. Miami racked up big numbers on offense to smother Pitt, 52-23 and improve to 7-0 on the season.

There was a lot of pregame chatter coming from the Panthers, with head coach Pat Narduzzi and defensive back Raion Strader leading the verbal charge. But words don't win games, and there was nothing Narduzzi or Strader could do to stop the Hurricanes from lighting up the scoreboard. 

Here are the winners and losers from Miami's 52-23 win over Pitt:

Winner: Malachi Toney is one of the best to ever play at Miami

We don't need to wait for Malachi Toney's complete career to make this declaration. He already has his face on the Mount Rushmore of Miami's great wide receivers.

Toney was a holding call away from breaking his own single-game receiving record and did break his single-game record for catches with 16. All in all, the 16-catch, 194-yard, 3-touchdown stat line feels like another day at the office for the future All-American. Given the numbers he has put up so far this season, it is.

"After I caught the pass, they told me," Toney said about setting the single-game receptions record. "I saw them with the football, and I was like, 'why do they keep carrying around this football?' But then I asked them what I did, and they said I broke my record."

Toney's totals give him 2,163 yards for his career, moving him past Leonard Hankerson for seventh on the all-time receiving list. He's on pace to pass 2,500 before the end of the regular season and could challenge Xavier Restrepo's 2,844 before the year ends. It's an amazing feat for a player that's still a teenager.

Winner: Complimentary football wins the race

Here's a garland for Jaylyn Upshaw. The two catches for 31 yards were fine, and he dropped a pass on fourth-down that would've given him a really nice day, but the second-year player shined on Toney's first touchdown, when he threw a great block to give Toney the space to work between the defenders and score.

That's teamwork and doing your job for the greater good. Upshaw deserves his flowers for that play.

Mixed Bag: It was an interesting day for the defense

The run defense was exceptional. Pitt was going to try and muck up the game, but the Panthers never got a chance and Miami held them to 69 yards on the ground. Damon Ferguson Jr. was going to try to have a big game for Pitt, and he had 10 touches for just 46 yards. That's the good part.

That secondary, however, was not great. There's no reason for Pitt to throw for 334 yards with backup quarterbacks. The Panthers' wide receivers were open . . .too open . . .and they were getting explosive plays down the field. The Hurricanes pass rush didn't get home, forcing Corey Hetherman to use the nickel/safety packages to get to the quarterback. 

Loser: Girard Pringle is the odd-man out in the backfield

It's been tough sledding for Girard Pringle this season. He's basically running fourth on the depth chart and while Javian Mallory has taken advantage of the opportunities after Marty Brown was injured, Pringle has been left behind.

With Miami holding a big lead, Pringle got some late carries and had a disappointing stat line of six carries with no yards, and he was tackled in the end zone for a safety. Pringle has to stay ready because you never know what can happen, but as long as Mark Fletcher, Mallory, and Jordan Lyle are healthy, Pringle is not going to get many chances.

Loser: Pitt had a lot to say and nothing to back it up

Narduzzi has been talking about Mario Cristobal for months and when push came to shove, his team couldn't back up his bluster. And then you had Strader, who specifically called out Toney this week. How did that go for you, brother? Pitt decided to win the war of words, but lost the 10-yard fight all day. 

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