Anderson attended Mason City High School in Mason City, Iowa, before enrolling at the University of Notre Dame. He played for Knute Rockne from 1918 to 1921 and was a teammate of George Gipp. As a senior, he was named a consensus first team All-American and was the team captain of the 1921 Notre Dame football team. In his final three years at Notre Dame, the Irish had a record of 28–1. Anderson's only loss in his final three seasons was to Anderson's home state school, when Notre Dame lost to the Iowa Hawkeyes in 1921, 10–7.