LAS VEGAS -- Mike Anderson is a quiet, reserved fellow who shies away from the limelight. But in the middle of Sam Boyd Stadium directly after Utah's 17-16 victory, Anderson was the center of attention as bedlam reigned all about him.
First there was a hug from his coach, Ron McBride. Then from Anderson's mother, Emily, and girlfriend, Andrea. Injured Ute Stevonne Smith, neck brace and all, was next. And then Anderson, with tears in his eyes, was besieged with interviews from TV and newspaper reporters. All the while Ute fans were chanting M-V-P, M-V-P, M-V-P."Anderson's a popular guy," said one Ute fan, watching Anderson journey from one interview to another with all the hugs and kisses in between.
And why shouldn't he be?
All Anderson did Saturday was rush for a school-record 254 yards on 34 carries, score Utah's only two touchdowns and earn Las Vegas Bowl MVP honors after setting records for most yards and longest rush from scrimmage. Anderson pretty much carried Utah on his 6-foot, 232-pound frame to its first bowl victory in five years in his final game in a Ute uniform.
"This was great -- a great way to end my career," said the soft-spoken Anderson. "This is unbelievable, to be able to get a big win in a bowl game. To finish the way I did is a great feeling."
Anderson scored four touchdowns on the same field three months earlier when Utah defeated UNLV 52-14. It didn't take him long to show it was going to be another memorable night in Las Vegas when he got loose for a 76-yard run from his team's own 2-yard line on Utah's first offensive play of the night.
Anderson took a pitch a couple of yards deep in the end zone on the left side, found a hole, cut up back to the middle of the field, eluded a couple of tacklers and all of a sudden was in the clear. It looked like a possible 98-yard touchdown until he was dragged down from behind at the 22-yard line.
Asked about being caught from behind, Anderson shook his head and laughed, "I was surprised I got caught -- I was giving it everything I had."
The Utes came out of that drive without a score when Cletus Truhe's field goal try was blocked and returned for a Fresno touchdown. But later in the first quarter Anderson tied it up at 7-7 with a scintillating 34-yard run for a touchdown as he started off around the right end, then reversed his field in the Bulldog secondary and coasted in for a touchdown.
"It was a simple play," said Anderson. "I started off on the right side and, after watching all the film, I knew once I got upfield they'd be coming at me laterally. So I just went back underneath and it was wide open."
Anderson's second touchdown, midway through the third quarter, was another beauty. It looked like a simple off-tackle play, but after being hit at the line of scrimmage, he bounced off, was hit by another Fresno defender, spun off another Bulldog before finally diving into the end zone.
"I just wasn't going to be denied," he said. "I just had to get to the end zone."
At that point, Anderson had already tied the existing Las Vegas Bowl record of 185 yards set by a Toledo runner in 1995. And from there he kept adding to his total until he surpassed the mark of 248 set by Eddie Johnson in 1984.
After all the celebrating on the field, Anderson was finally ushered to the Utah locker room by Ute officials. Then he had to make an appearance in the interview room, where he was peppered with even more questions about his night to remember.
Finally there were just a couple of reporters left as Anderson sat at the interview table with his big gold MVP trophy in front of him.
"This is just awesome," he said. "To get this win and this trophy -- I'll never forget this."