More honors for Mike Anderson.(The Gazette)

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. _ Is it too late for Mike Anderson to earn summa cum laude honors at the University of Utah?

With only a semester left before graduation _ which he will finish this offseason _ it's going to take one heck of a late surge. But then Anderson has proven what a late bloomer can accomplish, wrapping up a Cinderella season on Monday by being named the NFL's offensive rookie of the year by the Associated Press.

A question mark just to make the Denver Broncos roster a few short months ago, Anderson became the first player in franchise history to capture the award, after rushing for 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns - filling in at running back for Terrell Davis, a former NFL MVP, and Olandis Gary, last year's surprise rookie who rushed for 1,000 yards.

Anderson won in a landslide over Baltimore Ravens running back Jamal Lewis, believed to be his primary competition. Lewis - who rushed for 1,364 yards in the regular season - received 10 votes to Anderson's 40.

Lewis, however, had the upper hand when the backs had their first head-to-head matchup Sunday in Baltimore, rushing for 110 yards and two touchdowns while Anderson was held to a season-low 40 yards. The Ravens won the AFC wild-card game, 21-3, ending the season for the Broncos (11-6).

The voting was based on the regular season, however, and not the playoffs. So while Lewis and the Ravens earned the right to advance to this weekend's second-round game at Tennessee, two wins away from reaching the Super Bowl, Anderson earned a consolation prize that helps take a little bit of the sting out of defeat.

"It does, in a way," Anderson said. "I'm the kind of person who, it's nice to win awards and achieve and be recognized for things you do on the field, but when you start out with one goal in mind - that is to get to the Super Bowl - and you come up short, it takes the air out of you.