Head coach Mario Cristobal saw a lot to like when the Ducks held their first major scrimmage of this preseason camp, on Sunday in Autzen Stadium.

Venue: Autzen Stadium

Format: Scrimmage

Oregon's first-string offense walked off the field Saturday afternoon lamenting its performance against the No. 1 defense the first time they went head-to-head during the Ducks' scrimmage in Autzen Stadium. The defense had a few wounds to lick after allowing the offense to score in a two-minute drill, and again during goal-line work to close the scrimmage.

Overall, though, the energy was positive throughout the team following the ninth preseason practice of this month for Oregon, and the first major scrimmage of camp. "We're so much better," head coach Mario Cristobal told the Ducks afterward, "than we were a year ago at this time."

Starting quarterback Justin Herbert began the day by leading the No. 1 offense to two scoring drives against the No. 2 defense, and later directed a nine-play, 62-yard drive capped by a Dillon Mitchell TD reception (below) against the No. 1 defense in the two-minute situation.

That was a nice finish for the offense after a three-drive series against the No. 1 defense midway through the scrimmage that included two three-and-outs, and then an interception by playmaking freshman safety Jevon Holland . "We did some good things, some bad things," Herbert said. "Overall it was just nice to get out here and compete."

And Herbert is on board with Cristobal's assessment that Oregon is ahead of schedule this preseason, compared to 12 months ago when the team was adjusting to an entirely new coaching staff.

"From a strategy standpoint, I think guys have a lot better feel for what we're doing," Herbert said. "We've got a lot of talent. And guys are getting after it, so I'm excited."

Herbert had a touchdown pass of 43 yards to tight end Cam McCormick (above) against the No. 2 defense early in the scrimmage, and then capped the two-minute drill drive with the TD pass to Mitchell. Running backs Tony Brooks-James , Taj Griffin and Cyrus Habibi-Likio handled a heavy load given injuries to the other running backs, with Griffin scoring to cap a long drive by the No. 2 offense and the other two backs finding the end zone during the goal-line period that ended the day.

Defensively, Holland continued to be a thorn in the side of the offense, and sophomore cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. had perhaps his best day of camp so far. Outside linebackers Justin Hollins and La'Mar Winston Jr. were effective against the run, and sophomore tackle Austin Faoliu was absolutely dominant for certain stretches, tackling Brooks-James short of the line to gain three times in a five-play sequence during red-zone work.

"There's always room for improvement, and the thing we have to work on the most is defending the run," Faoliu said. "In the past people have thought we were soft, all about uniforms. I'm trying my best to change that perspective."

Sunday's scrimmage was held 20 days out from Oregon's 2018 season opener, Sept. 1 against Bowling Green (5 p.m. PT, Pac-12 Network). There's plenty of work to be done between now and then, but if Sunday's scrimmage was the first step, the Ducks felt it was a positive one.

"The most important thing today," Cristobal said, "was that our toughness is better, our discipline is better, our mindset is better."

Other highlights: On the opening possession, Herbert got the offense down near the red zone with a beautiful ball to Mitchell, completing the pass despite solid coverage from Kahlef Hailassie . The freshman cornerback got revenge four plays later when he broke up a pass to Johnny Johnson III in the end zone (above), forcing the offense to settle for Adam Stack's 32-yard field goal … When the ones went head-to-head, Graham broke up a pass to Mitchell to force the first three-and-out, and Hollins stopped Brooks-James short of the line to gain on the second. On the next possession, Jaylon Redd moved the chains with a couple nifty catch-and-run plays, but then Herbert tried to attack downfield into coverage and Holland came across the field to pick it off (below). …

Braxton Burmeister and the No. 2 offense didn't do a lot their first couple possessions, but they drove to a touchdown against the No. 2 defense on their third try. Burmeister moved the chains on third down twice with completions to Daewood Davis and Brenden Schooler , and Griffin capped the drive with a nine-yard TD run. … When the No. 3 units faced off, the defense won the first possession, but Tyler Shough led a touchdown drive on the second, capped by a seven-yard TD pass to Matt Mariota . Habibi-Likio did the heavy lifting on that drive with six carries for 46 yards. …

During a period of solely third-down situations, play was pretty even between the first units. Graham had another pass breakup in that drill, and Redd moved the chains on another reception from Herbert. But the No. 2 defense really dominated its counterparts; Adrian Jackson and Popo Aumavae had interceptions on back-to-back plays, the latter when it looked like Burmeister was trying to burn the ball into the ground under pressure. … Both the No. 1 and No. 2 defenses also made stops with the offense "coming out," or trying to gain a first down when backed up to its own goal line. Aumavae stopped Habibi-Likio a yard short on third down with the twos.

Other observations: The final drill, the goal-line scenario with the offense given a fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line, really got the team fired up. Cristobal brought all the players off the sideline and onto the field to cheer their teammates, and the competitive juices were flowing. It was a great way to finish the scrimmage on a high note, and guys seemed really enthused coming off the field. Smart move by the head coach to create some positive energy at the end of a long, hard afternoon of work. …

Gus Cumberlander seems to be taking to his move to the defensive line. When he's on the field as a nickel pass-rusher with Hollins and Jalen Jelks , that's a ton of length up front to clog passing lanes, and he made some plays in the run game Sunday as well. … All four kickoff and punt units were drilled early in the scrimmage; freshman safety Steven Stephens continues to look like a guy who will help on multiple special teams this season. …

Burmeister and Davis seem to have really good chemistry. They connected a number of times over the course of the scrimmage, including twice during the two-minute drill that ended with Burmeister throwing a TD pass to Demetri Burch . … Burch might have been juggling that pass when he fell out of bounds, but the officiating crew on hand allowed it. The crew threw about a half-dozen penalty flags over the course of the two-hour scrimmage.

Up Next: The Ducks are off Monday before returning to practice Tuesday.