Penn State football coach Joe Paterno answers questions during a news conference Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2005, in State College, Pa. Penn State plays at Northwestern on Saturday. (AP Photo/Pat Little)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Penn State head coach Joe Paterno realizes that, sometimes, you just can't please everybody.

Take the offense, for example, which has displayed a quick-strike, big-play capability during the season's first three weeks that hadn't been seen for a while. Last week, Penn State had touchdown passes of 55 yards and 47 yards against Central Michigan. Last year, Penn State's longest TD reception was for 37 yards.

``If we're just going 4 yards, 4 yards, 5 yards, then you would be asking the question `How come we don't have any big plays?''' Paterno said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. ``We happen to have some people who can make some big plays.''

The need for big plays is something that Paterno harped on during the offseason after the offense took much of the heat last year for Penn State's 4-7 record. The additions of freshmen Deon Butler, Derrick Williams and Justin King have injected much-needed speed to the receiving corps.

``What are you going to do? Sit there with hands behind the back and say `Don't throw the ball, because somebody is going to ask me on Tuesday how come we don't sustain drives?''' Paterno said. ``No, I don't think about it. All I'm worried about is what we can do to win a football game, period.''

While impressive, Penn State's steady improvement on offense this season hasn't exactly come against top-notch defenses. Northwestern, Penn State's next opponent, hasn't done too well so far either, having given up 773 yards in a 52-21 loss at Arizona State last week.

Still, the Wildcats and Nittany Lions have a history in the Big Ten. Penn State has lost to Northwestern the last two seasons, including a 14-7 defeat at Beaver Stadium last year.

``The last few years against Northwestern ... we felt we could have done a lot better than we did,'' tight end Isaac Smolko said Tuesday.

The Wildcats use a spread offense led by senior quarterback Brett Basanez, which could mean another active day for Penn State's defense. Smolko said he hopes the Nittany Lion offense can chip in with long drives.

``It'll be a big part of this game,'' Smolko said. ``Being on the field a little longer will help the defense.''

A win against Northwestern would be the 100th for Penn State since joining the Big Ten in 1993, a milestone that Paterno said wasn't one of his major concerns. The Nittany Lions finished 2-6 in conference play last year.

``We would like to prove to the Big Ten that we can still play with them. We lost some games last year that I felt we could have won,'' Paterno said. ``I am just anxious to play, whether it is a Big Ten team or not a Big Ten team.''