LINCOLN, Neb. -- Midway through the fourth quarter of Nebraska’s victory over Rutgers on Saturday, Ameer Abdullah appeared on the HuskerVision screens inside Memorial Stadium. As his school record of 341 all-purpose yards was announced to the crowd, the senior I-back stood steely-faced, staring ahead, seemingly oblivious to the moment.

Earlier, in the midst of his 225-yard rushing effort, Abdullah, while waiting for his next opportunity, clutched a football on the sideline. Teammates mingled or sat on the bench, but Abdullah just held that ball in a locked position near his chest and kept his body in motion, a drill -- designed for practice -- that running backs coach Ron Brown encourages.

Eight games into his final season at Nebraska, Abdullah leads the nation in rushing yardage. He’s second in touchdowns. With four 200-yard rushing performances, he’s on track to top 2,000 yards in the 13th game of the season, whether that’s in Indianapolis Dec. 6 or at a bowl site.

He just passed Anthony Thompson and Archie Griffin to take the No. 2 spot on the Big Ten’s career all-purpose yardage list. With a couple more games like Saturday, in which he returned a kickoff 76 yards and caught two passes, Abdullah will pass Ron Dayne, who totaled 7,429 all-purpose yards, as the league’s all-time leader.

Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah is putting up a historically good season -- and career. AP Photo/Nati Harnik

You’d think, perhaps, the guy would take a moment to appreciate his accomplishments.

Not a chance.

“He’ll be able to look back on this with a lot of pride,” Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. “It’s pretty special.”

Abdullah said he needs to keep his head down. Literally.

“You can’t get caught up in that right now,” he said, “because that’s not what is important. What’s important is tomorrow.”

Brown compared the past three months for Abdullah to a walk through the jungle. The deeper into the season he gets, the thicker the brush and the more difficult it becomes for him to see if, for even a minute, he loses focus.

“He’s just pulling things out of the way to get to the destination,” Brown said. “He realizes this is part of the jungle. He’s trying to keep his eyes on the prize.

“If you lose your senses, you can get discombobulated and go find a place to melt down somewhere.”

Last month, as Nebraska ramped up its promotion of Abdullah for the Heisman Trophy and other awards, the Alabama native largely shut down his availability to the media.

If an activity is not sharpening his focus, Abdullah prioritizes other things.

“He doesn’t have to think about that stuff,” Brown said.

Abdullah granted an extended interview Saturday, continuing to deflect attention even as he fielded questions about his own record-setting performance.

He sits 555 yards from breaking Nebraska's career rushing mark of 4,780 yards, set in three seasons by Heisman winner Mike Rozier. That record has long been considered unattainable at the school known for its legacy of I-backs.

Despite the appearance, Abdullah said he recognizes the significance of his achievements this fall.

“They're definitely memories,” he said. “Every time I step on the field, whether it's practice or a game, I'm always creating memories here. I'm always going to remember coming here and playing for this great university. Not many people are blessed with that opportunity. Definitely, it’s an honor."

His array of spectacular runs, in a way, creates a difficult situation for Nebraska offensive coordinator Tim Beck.

For instance, on Saturday, Abdullah scored on consecutive touches of 53 and 48 yards as he buckled the knees of Rutgers defenders on both plays. The back-to-back drives unlocked a 7-7 tie early in the second quarter and had the stadium abuzz about Abdullah’s next chance.

But on the ensuing possession, Beck called three pass plays. The first two fell incomplete. Rutgers cornerback Anthony Cioffi intercepted Tommy Armstrong Jr. on the third.

Collectively, more than 90,000 people in attendance groaned. Why didn't Beck call the number of his best player?

“You can’t always just hand the ball to Ameer,” Beck said. “Everyone is going to know. You can’t just do that.”

Oh, the problems of coaching a Heisman candidate.

“Coach Beck understands getting the ball in the playmakers’ hands and spacing is really important,” Abdullah said. “We have to utilize all of our skilled players. We don’t want to just make this offense one-dimensional.”

Through it all, Abdullah keeps his head down, navigating the jungle. As for any discussion about his place among other great running backs -- this season or historically -- Pelini said Abdullah belongs in the discussion.

“I mean, just watch the film,” the coach said. “That’s all you’ve got to do.”