The image is lasting. University of Houston running back Kenneth Farrow dropping his shoulder and bulldozing a Pitt defender at the goal line in last January's Armed Forces Bowl.

The play was vintage Farrow.

Tough.

Relentless.

Run over anybody in your way.

It's a running style fitting for a player who began his college career as a safety, and whom teammates say would be just as comfortable causing havoc on defense as he is the star running back for the No. 18 Cougars.

Those same teammates have learned to get out of the way.

Ask receiver Steven Dunbar, who had the misfortune of being in the wrong place, wrong time, as Farrow knocked him down on a long run against Tulsa earlier this season.

"Casualty of friendly fire," Farrow joked.

Even after a helmet-to-helmet hit on his third and final touchdown run last week against Central Florida forced Farrow out of the game with a minute remaining in the third quarter, coach Tom Herman doesn't want to see his senior back and three-time captain change anything.

"Absolutely not," Herman said. "Keep running the way you're running. He ran better in that game against Central Florida than I had seen him in run in a long time. We want that same Kenneth Farrow back.

"We need him to run that way in order for us to be successful."

The Cougars (7-0) begin a critical five-game stretch to end the regular season Saturday against Vanderbilt, which has one of the nation's top defensive units.

Farrow returned to practice on Tuesday after going through a mandated 48-hour concussion protocol.

"That's just how I run," Farrow said. "They're trying to hit me, I'm trying to hit them. I'd rather deliver the hit than receive it."

Farrow, a 1,000-yard rusher for the first time last season, admits it took some time to get accustomed to Herman's new offensive style. He had 226 rushing yards and did not score a touchdown in the first three games. In four games in American Athletic Conference play, Farrow has 669 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging a healthy 6 yards per carry.

"We made a tweak in the running game to slow the pace down," said Farrow, who has 10 100-yard rushing games the past two seasons. "The holes were there the last couple of weeks. I was just kind of getting there too fast. My pace was a little too fast."

Since then the results have been noticeable.

Farrow had a career-high 159 yards in the AAC opener against Tulsa. He broke the mark last week with 169 yards and three touchdowns in a 59-10 win at UCF.

"Just being able to wait for the play to develop, make the one cut and get out of there," Farrow said.

For his career, Farrow has 2,686 yards and, at his current pace, has a chance to finish among UH's top-3 career rushers.

"He's a pro when it comes to getting anything done," Herman said.