LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Every college football coach in America likely feels as if his team's season opener is speeding toward him like a runaway train.

For Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops, he's just thankful there's a significant amount of track remaining before the Wildcats head to Southern Miss.

"I feel like we've got a lot of work to do," Stoops said after Saturday's first major scrimmage of fall camp, a workout that he deemed "Just OK."

"It's a good thing we've still got three weeks (until the opener)," the UK boss added. "Two weeks would be pushing it; three weeks, there's a lot of time to get some things ironed out."

Stoops labeled the scrimmage "typical" of what one usually finds in fall camp. Sometimes more questions emerge than answers.

"Both sides of the ball did some good things at times," he said, "and that's why it's always hard for me to gauge the success because you just want to see good, hard, clean football. I saw that at times, and I saw some things that were sloppy at times, as to be expected the first time we teed it up live."

The offense reportedly shined early in the scrimmage, putting together long drives into the red zone, but could not finish with touchdowns.

A turnover spoiled a long opening drive, according to UK offensive coordinator Eddie Gran, and may have set the tone for a lackluster day.

"We started out with a 10- or 12-play drive. It was awesome," he said. "We get a penalty, came back, overcame. We drive it down inside the 1-yard line, and we're our own worst enemy. We put a ball on the ground... You could have heard a pin drop."

On the following drive, the offense once again went the length of the field, but could not execute in the red zone. "We had some throws and some drop balls that could have extended drives," Gran said.

Quarterback play was "at times really good and at times poor," Gran said. One positive note was the lack of turnovers in the passing game. He added that pass protection was also solid.

Defensive coordinator Matt House labeled his unit's performance "up and down," but Stoops noted that he sees improvement against the run, a major point of emphasis entering the 2017 season. UK ranked 12th in the SEC against the run last year, giving up 228 yards per game and 5.15 yards per carry.

"I think we've worked really hard fundamentally at doing some things better," he said. "I think that showed up today. There was definitely some positives, some good things. We were more stout up front than we've been.

"You saw some more second-and-longs. That's what we're looking for."

NOTES:

* The Cats emerged largely unscathed from an injury standpoint, but senior offensive tackle Cole Mosier had to leave early. "Slightly concerned," Stoops said. The staff will know more about his status on Monday. "Other than that, relatively healthy in a good, physical scrimmage."

* Junior tight end C.J. Conrad and freshman wide receiver Josh Ali both had touchdown receptions in the scrimmage.

* Freshman wide receiver Lynn Bowden missed summer work with the Cats and the opening days of camp, but is starting to show glimpses of what made him a prized recruit. "He showed up today with a couple of nice catches. I believe he's got a really good future here." Bowden is also working on punt return and kickoff return units.

* Junior wide receiver Kayaune Ross (6-6, 225) "brings a different dimension to us if we can get him out singled up, especially against man-to-man (coverage)," Gran said. "So far, he's right on track and can be a guy who can help us."

* House said freshman defensive tackle Quinton Bohanna continues to have a nice camp, and that junior Adrian Middleton has been "solid" on the defensive front. "T.J. (Carter) has flashed on and off, and Calvin Taylor has actually made some nice plays."

* House cited junior cornerback Derrick Baity made some nice plays on "50/50 balls," and freshman outside linebacker Jordan Wright showed some pass-rush ability.

* Stoops confirmed that redshirt freshman linebacker Jaylin Bannerman is now getting some cross-training at tight end. "Just trying to find the right position for him... We feel like we have a lot of depth there at Sam and Jack (linebacker).... We definitely have some guys to work with."

* Freshman running back Bryant Koback is not full-contact yet, Gran said. He's expected to be 100 percent cleared next week.