BERKELEY – The California football team used a second-quarter surge to take control of Saturday's game against Idaho and shut out the Vandals for the final 39 minutes in a 31-17 win at California Memorial Stadium.

Quarterback Sam Jackson V contributed to three touchdowns – two through the air and one on the ground – while running back Isaiah Ifanse rushed for 137 rushing yards on 22 carries. Defensively, the Golden Bears (2-1) forced three turnovers.

In the final minutes of the opening half, Jackson dropped in a couple of perfect throws to the end zone of 20 yards to Jeremiah Hunter and 36 yards to Trond Grizzell. That started a run of 31 unanswered points, as Cal scored on five of seven possessions.

"Momentum is a huge part of this game. You can feel it in the stadium," Travers Family Head Coach Justin Wilcox said. "We work real hard in terms of emphasizing the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half. You can really change the momentum in those eight minutes. That'll be a positive we talk about when we watch the tape."

On the first drive of the second half, the Bears went 80 yards in 10 plays, capping things off with Jackson's two longest runs of the day. One play after going for 10 yards on 3rd-and-8, Jackson broke contain for his longest carry of the season, making multiple defenders miss on a 27-yard touchdown run.

While Idaho (2-1) struggled to get first downs, the Bears' run game started to wear the Vandals' defense out. Ifanse had 81 of his 137 yards in the third quarter, scoring from 1 yard out with 2:53 left in the period to put Cal ahead 28-17.

After cornerback Lu-Magia Hearns III forced a fumble on the Vandals' next possession – the first of two fourth-quarter fumbles recovered by the Bears' defense – running back Ashton Stredick reeled off a highlight 41-yard run to set up a 39-yard Michael Luckhurst field goal.

Combined with cornerback Nohl Williams' second-quarter interception, Cal's defense has now forced 10 turnovers through its first three games.

"Our goal is three turnovers a game so we can give the ball back to the offense and they can put points on the scoreboard," said Williams, who has now picked off a pass in two straight games. "We were just emphasizing winning our 1-on-1s and getting off the field on third downs. After we cleaned up a couple things, we were good."

Stredick ended the day with a career-high 77 rushing yards on 11 attempts, helping the Bears end the game with a commanding 256-to-108 edge on the ground.

"We kind of caught on to the games their defense had going on up front," Ifanse said. "I knew that all it took was one big play to get us rolling. Just having that belief and seeing what the second quarter held for us was awesome."

The Bears return to action next Saturday to face No. 8 Washington. The game is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. and airs on ESPN.