Notes from Northwestern practice: September 2

- Preparation for Northwestern's week two game against Northern Illinois got off to a sloppy start. The special teams units struggled a little bit with dropped holds and bad snaps.

- The highlight of practice came during one-on-one drills between the wide receivers and cornerbacks. It was the most impressive showing by the offense thus far in fall practice. Most of the receivers ran crisp routes, making tough catches in traffic. But Cameron Dickerson's struggles with drops continued. After dropping a few passes Saturday, a few more throws escaped Dickerson's grasp during Tuesday's practice.

- Things got a little chippy during front seven work when an offensive and defensive lineman got into a little skirmish. That kind of ignited the intensity of an otherwise sluggish practice.

- Now arguably Northwestern's top offensive weapon, Dan Vitale was utilized in various ways on Saturday. In practice, Vitale was Northwestern's best offensive player again. He hauled in tough catches over the middle and beat defensive backs with speed on the outside.

- My personal favorite development from practice was the defense reenacting the "What kind of power you got?" scene from Remember the Titans.