Looking for upset of Pac-12 team, Idaho can’t hold 17-0 lead. ‘They kind of wore us down’

Well into the second quarter, the Idaho Vandals were ready to shock the college football world Saturday afternoon.

Scoring on their first three possessions, the Vandals jumped out to a 17-0 lead at California. A big upset was brewing for a Big Sky school from the Football Championship Subdivision against a Pac-12 program.

Then turnovers and fourth-down failures, as well as an inability to stop Cal’s rushing attack, doomed Idaho.

The Golden Bears (2-1) scored 31 unanswered points to pull out a 31-17 win in Berkeley. They rushed for 256 yards and clamped down on defense, capitalizing on fumbles and turnovers on downs to turn the game around and hand the Vandals (2-1) their first loss.

Idaho’s first three drives covered 200 yards and produced a field goal and two touchdowns, with Anthony Woods and quarterback Gevani McCoy scoring on runs. Their next nine drives produced 187 yards and no points.

McCoy finished 28-for-46 passing for 279 yards, with a second-quarter interception. The Vandals then lost two fumbles in the second half and saw two drives end on downs.

“I feel like it was mostly the Vandals beating the Vandals,” said U of I wide receiver Jermaine Jackson, who had six catches for 62 yards. “We gotta fix some little things and we’ll be all right.”

Cal, meanwhile, got rolling behind running backs Isaiah Ifanse (137 yards and a TD) and Ashton Stredick (77 yards). The Bears took the second-half kick and drove 80 yards in 10 plays for the go-ahead score, and went ahead 28-17 with a 48-yard TD drive after stopping Idaho on downs near midfield.

The Vandals’ next possession ended with a fumble and led to a Cal field goal in the fourth quarter.

“I thought in the second half they kind of wore us down with their running game and were able to have some big plays,” Idaho coach Jason Eck said.

Hayden Hatten led Idaho’s receiving corps with eight catches for 80 yards. Terez Traynor had six catches for 71 yards but was responsible for one of the fumbles after a nice grab. Woods rushed for 56 yards on 11 carries.

Idaho opens Big Sky play next weekend at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow against Sacramento State.