One question was answered in the first half for the Oklahoma Sooners as senior linebacker Caleb Kelly joined his teammates on the field for the first time season.

Kelly, returning from a torn ACL suffered during spring, did what he could in what turned out to be another dramatic victory for OU, 28-24, against visiting TCU on Saturday evening.

“Excited to get him back on the field,” head coach Lincoln Riley said. “We've tried to balance his health, getting him to a point where we thought he would be physically ready to play and help, and play at a high level. Getting him to a point where we thought he would be physically ready to play and help, and then keeping our options open with the four-game redshirt.”

It will be something to monitor because with game one checked off, a potential national championship game would be No. 5, and Kelly would not have the option to redshirt.

Of course, we’re a long ways from having to deal with that situation, but it was clear Kelly enjoyed being out there again. Side-by-side with Kenneth Murray, Kelly was back inside at the WILL spot after finishing the 2018 season outside at the SAM.

He wasn’t just out there when it didn’t matter, either. Kelly was on the field for the final drive that resulted in a Brendan Radley-Hiles’ interception to guarantee another tight victory.

OU goes ground-and-pound

It felt like a throwback to when Riley first arrived in Norman. No quick strikes. No tempo. Hard to argue with the results as OU rushed for 366 yards on 64 attempts and had a 39:31-20:29 time of possession advantage.

Just like last week, it was quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Kennedy Brooks doing the bulk of the lifting. The two combined for 53 carries for 322 yards and two touchdowns.

“We always feel like that. We've just gotta go out there and show it. That's all it is,” Brooks said. “That's just the confidence we have in this offense. We can run the ball, throw the ball, do whatever we want. You won't stop us.”

Hurts rushed for 173 yards and two scores, while Brooks rushed for 149 yards. Both guys averaged at least six yards per attempt.

The dominance of the run game shortened the contest considerably and kept OU’s defense off the field. OU had an 85-45 play advantage.

Hurts’ uneven night

Starting to become a disturbing pattern for the Sooners regarding Hurts. He’s going to make some plays, but he’s going to give some huge ones back as well.

Never was that more apparent than against the Horned Frogs. Hurts accounted for all four OU touchdowns, but he also turned the ball over twice. One of those was a 98-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The other one was after a fantastic run that saw the ball get ripped from him from behind as he was inside the 10 yard line.

“A guy who is handling the ball and making as many decisions as he is makes, you obviously don’t want to have the one in the red zone… He’s done a ton of things well,” Riley said. “I thought his understanding of the run game and how we wanted to attack them in the throw game … he did some really good things. He didn’t get paid off for all of them.

“But I could see some of the progress of him taking and understanding what we want him to do. New challenges each week. That’s how this thing goes. We’re getting better and he’s doing a great job and leading us to victories. Hopefully he can lead us to a few more.”

Hurts ran for 173 yards and two scores. He threw for 145 yards and two touchdowns, but it was another funky night when it comes to ball security.

Lamb returns

All the questions about CeeDee Lamb were answered rather quickly as the junior wide receiver returned to the lineup after missing last week’s win at Baylor.

Never really found a rhythm, but Lamb ended with two catches for 16 yards with a touchdown and a 21-yard reverse run.

Honoring Calcaterra, seniors

Senior night is always emotional, and it was again for the Sooners. This one had the added emotion of junior tight end Grant Calcaterra being honored as well.

Calcaterra announced Thursday evening he is retiring from the game of football because of concussions. He was involved in senior night and was given the honor of leading the team out onto the field.

“He made the right decision. I mean, he did,” Riley said. “It stinks because of the passion that kid has for the game and there was a very potential future for him in the game, obviously here and professionally as well.

“But there's more to it than this game. I think everybody totally got it. Everybody supports him a thousand percent. I'm sick for him, but also happy he was able to get to a place to make the right decision.”

Seniors Nick Basquine and Neville Gallimore were named Don Key Award winners before the game.