Utah running back Jamal Anderson was still...

Utah running back Jamal Anderson was still basking in the afterglow of his greatest college football game when he was shaken by a glow of a different sort.

The hills of Calabasas were afire and he was on the phone to his family in Woodland Hills, making sure they were safe.

“We had a house burn down when I was 6,” said Anderson, who went to El Camino Real High. “We weren’t looking for any reoccurrences.”

Fifteen years ago, Jamal and his younger brother, Jaleel, were playing with candles and accidentally set the curtains on fire. Before the Andersons knew it, their house on 12th Street in his native Newark, N.J., was fully enveloped.

Anderson said he felt chills Tuesday when he listened to a message from his parents on his answering machine after returning from practice.

“This trips me out,” said the 6-foot, 244-pound fullback who had rushed for 158 yards in Utah’s 45-41 upset of San Diego State three days earlier. Anderson said he was concerned for his friends in Calabasas and Hidden Hills. “Fires scare me. But I’d like to be out there right now, helping someone out.”

The Utes would be reluctant to let Anderson return home under any circumstances. The senior is the team’s second leading scorer to Chris Yergensen (Antelope Valley High, 57 points) with 36 points. He scored three touchdowns Saturday against San Diego State on runs of two, three and two yards. But he also took off on a 36-yard jaunt--which is not expected of a fullback.

“It was the first time Utah put me in a one-back set and said, ‘It’s your show,’ ” Anderson said. “I used to say to the coaches, ‘You give me 20 carries and I’ll give you 150.”’

Anderson got the ball 23 times Saturday and he gave Utah the ninth-best rushing performance in the nation that day in Division I. This is not the first time Anderson has produced tailback-type numbers. He rushed for 1,163 yards two years ago at Moorpark College, and he still holds the single-season rushing record of 1,153 yards he set at El Camino Real in 1989.

Anderson leads the Utes in yards per carry (6.3) and 624 rushing yards, which includes 100-plus games against Kansas and Texas El Paso. He also has caught nine passes for 109 yards.

“I had to be selective (in choosing where to play) because a lot of schools don’t run the fullback,” said Anderson, who squats 635 pounds and bowls over would-be tacklers in the open field.

“There’s a part of me that says I’m going to take a little (glory) from the tailback.

“I think I have as much running ability as any fullback in the nation. But I like to crush people. My whole thing is not to run away from you. I want to run through you.”

Anderson has helped put Utah (5-4, 3-2 in Western Athletic Conference play) back on track with 298 yards rushing the past three games. The Utes have won three in a row--after losing their previous three games--and are not ready to concede a possible share of the WAC championship.

“If we win the next three, we’ll have two losses but we will have beaten the two best teams in the conference (San Diego and Brigham Young),” Anderson said. “I never thought we’d lose to San Diego State. But there were eight lead changes and it was just a little too close for comfort.”

One reason was former Santa Clara High quarterback Tim Gutierrez, who had his biggest day as an Aztec since taking over as starter the fourth game of the season. He completed 32 of 49 passes for 419 yards and four touchdowns--the third most productive game by a Division I passer Saturday. In seven games, Gutierrez has thrown for 2,175 yards and 16 touchdowns.

“He looked like he was running that show for a couple of years,” Anderson said of Gutierrez. “He was out there picking us apart.”

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Checking the fax: Ankle problems are threatening a bid by Sean Burwell (Cleveland) to become Oregon’s all-time rusher and all-purpose yardage leader. With three games left, he likely won’t catch Derek Loville in rushing (3,296 yards). He trails by 604 yards. Loville’s all-purpose mark (5,223) appeared within reach until Burwell left Saturday’s 46-23 victory over Washington State with an ankle injury. He needs 468 yards. . . .

Freshman Tarik Smith (Oak Park) and sophomore Iheanyi Uwaezuoke (Harvard) rank third in rushing and receiving for California. Smith has 99 yards in 27 carries, Uwaezuoke has 16 receptions for 243 yards. . . .

Eliel Swinton (Montclair Prep) gave Stanford’s struggling defense a lift in the Cardinal’s 31-27 victory over Oregon State on Saturday. His first career interception with a little more than a minute remaining sealed the victory. Swinton is one of seven true freshmen who have started on defense for Stanford. After starting four of six games, he ranks ninth on the team in tackles with 24.