Midnight.
BOXSCORE
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | Final |
| Coastal Carolina | 7 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 38 |
| Pittsburgh | 7 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 7 | 45 |
ScoringSummary
| Q | Team | Time | Play | Coastal Carolina | Pittsburgh |
| 1st | Coastal Carolina | 5:00 | Trishtin Glass, 7 Yd Pass From Bryce Underwood | 7 | 0 |
| 1st | Pittsburgh | 4:18 | Linkon Cure, 70 Yd Pass From Eli Holstein | 7 | 7 |
| 2nd | Pittsburgh | 10:55 | Quincy Ogunleye, 36 Yd FG | 7 | 14 |
| 2nd | Pittsburgh | 5:53 | Cataurus Hicks, 4 Yd Pass From Eli Holstein | 7 | 17 |
| 2nd | Coastal Carolina | 1:49 | Joey Bannon, 3 Yd Pass From Bryce Underwood | 14 | 17 |
| 3rd | Coastal Carolina | 11:52 | Dazmin James, 75 Yd Pass From Bryce Underwood | 21 | 17 |
| 3rd | Coastal Carolina | 7:45 | Nate Serna, 2 Yd Run | 28 | 17 |
| 4th | Coastal Carolina | 11:18 | Jevon Edwards, 11 Yd Run | 35 | 17 |
| 4th | Pittsburgh | 10:13 | Che Nwbuko, 61 Yd Pass From Eli Holstein | 35 | 24 |
| 4th | Pittsburgh | 8:24 | Nigel Glover, Returned Fumble 1 Yd | 35 | 31 |
| 4th | Pittsburgh | 2:07 | Cataurus Hicks, 4 Yd Pass From Eli Holstein | 35 | 38 |
| 4th | Coastal Carolina | 0:00 | Jesus Mendez, 33 Yd FG | 38 | 38 |
| OT | Pittsburgh | - | Fame Ijeboi, 7 Yd Run | 38 | 45 |
Coastal Carolina
Passing_Stats
| Bryce Underwood | 33/54, 345 Yds, 3 TD |
Rushing_Stats
| Jevon Edwards | 22 Att, 90 Yds, TD |
| Bryce Underwood | 16 Att, 110 Yds |
| Nate Serna | 4 Att, 12 Yds, TD |
| Bill Davis | 1 Att, 18 Yds |
Receiving_Stats
| Dazmin James | 7 Rec, 190 Yds, TD |
| Jevon Edwards | 7 Rec, 17 Yds |
| Aziah Johnson | 5 Rec, 33 Yds |
| Trishtin Glass | 5 Rec, 55 Yds, TD |
| OJ O'Neal | 4 Rec, 20 Yds |
| Joey Bannon | 4 Rec, 27 Yds, TD |
| Vince Shurmur | 1 Rec, 3 Yds |
Defensive_Stats
| SS Dalton Dexter | 11 Tkl, 2 TFL |
| CB Trevor Holton | 11 Tkl, TFL, Scak |
| FS Ja'Marley Riddle | 9 Tkl, TFL, INT |
| MLB Walt Reyna | 9 Tkl, TFL, 0.5 Sack |
| DE Ja'Quan Horne | 4 Tkl, 2 TFL, 0.5 Sack |
| CB Jo'Ziah Edmond | 2 Tkl, INT |
Pittsburgh
Passing_Stats
| Eli Holstein | 35/47, 435 Yds, 4 TD, 2 INT |
Rushing_Stats
| Quinton Martin Jr | 12 Att, 27 Yds |
| Eli Holstein | 5 Att, -2 Yds |
| Fame Ijeboi | 2 Att, 3 Yds, TD |
Receiving_Stats
| Linkon Cure | 10 Rec, 170 Yds, TD |
| Che Nwabuko | 7 Rec, 127 Yds, TD |
| Zion Fowler-El | 7 Rec, 62 Yds |
| Quinton Martin Jr | 5 Rec, 14 Yds |
| Catarus Hicks | 3 Rec, 19 Yds, 2 TD |
| Ben Power | 2 Rec, 19 Yds |
| Malachi Thomas | 1 Rec, 24 Yds |
Defensive_Stats
| LB Cameron Lindsey | 14 Tkl, 2 TFL, Sack |
| LB Aaron Chiles | 10 Tkl, 3 TFL, 0.5 Sack |
| LB Denim Cook | 9 Tkl, 2 TFL, Sack |
| DT Francis Brewu | 7 Tkl, 4 TFL, 0.5 Sack |
Glendale, AZ. - The slippers are gone, the carriage is a pumpkin, and midnight has struck on Coastal Carolina’s Cinderella run. In a Vrbo Fiesta Bowl thriller, the Pittsburgh Panthers erased an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Chanticleers 45-38 in overtime, ending one of the most remarkable seasons in program history.
For much of the night, Coastal looked ready to extend their fairytale. After falling behind 17-7 in the second quarter, the Chanticleers roared back. Bryce Underwood opened the second half with a 75-yard strike to Dazmin James, and the defense intercepted Eli Holstein twice, turning both takeaways into points. By the end of the third quarter, Coastal led 35-17 — seemingly in full control.
Then, Pitt found life. Wideout Che Nwabuko slipped behind both Dalton Dexter and Jo’Ziah Edmond for a 61-yard touchdown, and the Panthers’ defense followed with a suffocating stand that pinned Coastal at its own one-yard line. Facing fourth-and-forever, Coach Kade Vaughn — who had gambled on fourth down six times already — opted to punt.
It backfired.
Pittsburgh blocked the punt, recovered it in the end zone, and suddenly the deficit was just 35-31. Moments later, Holstein engineered another scoring drive, finishing with a four-yard strike to Catarus Hicks to complete a 21-0 fourth-quarter blitz and give Pitt its first lead since the second quarter.
Underwood answered, leading a frantic two-minute drill that set up freshman kicker Jesus Mendez for a game-tying 34-yard field goal with 17 seconds left, forcing overtime.
But in the extra frame, Pittsburgh struck first, punching in a touchdown in five plays. Coastal’s possession quickly unraveled — drops by James and Trishtin Glass bookended a short scramble by Underwood, setting up fourth-and-three with the season on the line.
Underwood rolled left, ran out of space, and fired a hurried cross-body throw toward James. The ball skipped at his receiver’s feet. Game over.
The cruelest twist? Glass was open in the end zone on a corner route.
“Never saw him,” Underwood admitted afterward. “I’ve watched the play 100 times already, and I’ll watch it a thousand more this offseason. Gotta keep my eyes up — can’t focus on the rush. If I see TG, maybe we win this game.”
Vaughn lauded praise on his team for their grit and determination despite the loss.
"Everything going on this season and these young men kept their heads down and played ball. Period. We ran out of steam at the end and we had a ton of key guys out (Bill Davis, Michael Allen, Johnny Williams IV, Darrion Hammer, LJ McCray) and still came down to the wire. That's something to be proud of."
Despite the crushing loss, the 2027 season remains a landmark for Coastal Carolina — 14-1, a Sun Belt title, a Heisman winner, a playoff victory, and a national spotlight that no NCAA investigation could dim.
Now, the questions shift to the offseason. Will Underwood return for his senior year? How will the fallout from Vaughn’s off-field battles affect portal activity? And perhaps most intriguing of all — under what conference banner will the Chanticleers be playing in 2028?
Underwood was flushed from the pocket on the final play before rushing a hurried throw to Dazmin James, but Trishtin Glass was wide open in the end zone.
Dazmin James turned the press coverage into toast to energize the Chants coming out of the half.
Fame Ijeboi powered through the Chanticleers for the game winning touchdown. -
34 #6 Miami (13-1) vs #3 Penn State (12-2) 10
Rose Bowl -
43 #10 Ole Miss (12-2) @ #2 Ohio State (12-2) 25
Sugar Bowl -
31 #8 Florida State (13-2) @ #1 Oklahoma (12-2) 24
