Cal Sports Report

Cal Game Summary: Bears Beat Idaho; Jaydn Ott Does Not Play

Cal comes back from 17-0 deficit to win 31-17 and stay unbeaten against FCS opponents.

Jake Curtis

In this story:

Cal rallied from a 17-0 deficit to beat Idaho 31-17 Saturday afternoon before a crowd of 36,810 in Berkeley.

The win keeps Cal (2-1) unbeaten alltime against FCS opponents, and the Bears are 14-0 against FCS teams since 2000.

The Bears won this game without standout running back Jaydn Ott, who sat out the game as a result of an injury sustained last week against Auburn.  Justin Wilcox said after the game he expects Ott to play next week against Washington.

Isaiah Ifanse started in Ott's place and rushed for 137 yards.

Cal quarterback Sam Jackson V left the game briefly in the third quarter after taking a heard hit, but he returned in the fourth quarter,

The summary:

CAL 31, IDAHO 17

RECORDS: CAL (2-1), IDAHO (2-1)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Cal running back Isaiah Ifanse. Starting in place of Jaydn Ott, Ifanse rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, an average of 6.2 yards per carry.

TURNING POINT: With Idaho leading 17-7, Cal defensive back Jeremiah Earby broke up a pass thrown by Idaho's Jevani McCoy on a fourth-and-4 play from the Cal 41-yard line. Cal scored a touchdown on the resulting possession to close the gap to 17-14.

CAL INJURY REPORT: Running back Jaydn Ott, who was injured in last week’s game against Auburn, was not in uniform on Saturday and did not play against Idaho. Starting defensive back Matthew Littlejohn and starting defensive tackle Ethan Saunders also sat out the game with injuries.

KEY PLAY 1: Idaho kicker Ricardo Chavez made a 25-yard field goal to give the Vandals a 3-0 lead with 8:41 left in the first quarter. It ended a 12-play, 68-yard drive that took 6:19 off the clock.

KEY PLAY 2: On a fourth-and-9 play from the Cal 36-yard line, Idaho quarterback Gevani McCoy completed a 17-yard pass to Hayden Hatten for a first down.

KEY PLAY 3: On that same drive, Idaho running back Anthony Woods ran 19 yards for a touchdown to give Idaho a 10-0 lead with 2:44 left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 4: On a fourth-and-4 play from the Idaho 47-yard line, Sam Jackson V’s pass was dropped by Cal receiver Trond Grizzell, turning the ball over to Idaho with 14:12 left in the second quarter.

KEY PLAY 5: On a fourth-and-goal play from the Cal 2-yard line Idaho quarterback Gevani McCoy ran 2 yards for a touchdown that put that Vandals ahead 17-0 with 9:08 left in the first half.

KEY PLAY 6: Cal quarterback Sam Jackson V threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Hunter, reducing the Idaho lead to 17-7 with 5:38 left in the first half.

KEY PLAY 7: On a fourth-and-4 play from the Cal 41-yard line, Idaho quarterback Gevani McCoy threw an incomplete pass, turning the ball over the Cal with 2:25 left in the first half.

KEY PLAY 8: Cal quarterback Sam Jackson V threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Trond Grizzell, reducing the Idaho lead to 17-14 with 1:25 left in the first half.

KEY PLAY 9: Cal quarterback San Jackson V ran 27 yards for a touchdown to complete and 80-yard drive and put Cal ahead 21-17 with 11:03 left in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 10: On a fourth-and-6 play from the Idaho 48-yard line, Idaho quarterback Gevani McCoy was hit by Cal linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr just as he  threw a pass and the ball fell incomplete, turning the ball over to Cal with 6:02 left in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 11: Cal quarterback Sam Jackson V is injured on a run and is replaced by Ben Finley with 4:12 left in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 12: On a fourth-and-3 play from the Idaho 24-yard line, Cal quarterback Ben Finley threw a 6-yard completion to Jeremiah Hunter, who made an excellent catch for a first down.

KEY PLAY 13: In that same drive, Cal running back Isaiah Infanse ran 1 yard for a touchdown to give Cal a 28-17 lead with 2:53 left in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 14: Cal's Ray Woodie recovered a fumble by Idaho's Terez Traynor at the Cal 33-yard line with 14:23 left in the fourth quarter.

KEY PLAY 15: Cal kicker Michael Luckhurst made a 40-yard field goal to put Cal ahead 31-17 with 10:37 left in the fourth quarter.

STAT OF THE GAME: Idaho quarterback Gevani McCoy completed 16 of his first 20 passes for 187 yards and no interceptions, but after that he was just 12-for-26 for 92 yards and one interception.

STAT OF THE GAME II: Idaho committed three turnovers; Cal had none

STAT OF THE GAME III: Idaho was 2-for-5 on fourth down

QUARTERBACK STATISTICS: Cal quarterback Sam Jackson V was 12-for-23 for 108 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, and he also ran nine times for 41 yards and a touchdown.  Cal's Ben Finley was 1-for-2 for 6 yards. Idaho's Gevani McCoy was 28-for-46 for 279 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. He also ran nine times for 33 yards and a touchdown.

WHAT IT MEANS: Cal avoided its first loss ever to an FCS opponent and feels a little better heading into next week's Pac-12 opener at Washington

CAL'S BOWL BAROMETER: The Bears' bowl chances stand at 40%. It's still hard to find four more victories on Cal's schedule that would make it bowl-eligible.

NEXT GAME: Cal (2-1) vs. No. 8 Washington (3-0) at Seattle’s Husky Stadium on Saturday, September 23. Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. TV: ESPN. The Bears play their Pac-12 opener next week at night in Seattle. Washington is led by Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Michel Penix Jr., and the Huskies beat Boise State 56-19 in their opener and topped Tulsa 43-10 last week. The Huskies beat Michigan State 41-7 on the road in their third game Saturday afternoon.

Cover photo by Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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