EVANSTON, Ill. -- Here, in a flat-paved town tangent to the Windy City, where at some point on Saturday, Ryan Field turned into the south end zone at Beaver Stadium, Joe Paterno was breathless.

At day's end, in a stadium with more than its share of visiting Blue and White fans, the 78-year-old Penn State football coach had learned more about his team than the previous three weeks revealed. He learned that his Nittany Lions are still a work in progress. That a 23-7 deficit, complemented by four turnovers in one half, won't suffice for the rest of the season.

He also learned that this team possesses a trait missing from Penn State teams in recent memory: resiliency.

The Lions (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) overcame a multitude of careless play and misfortune against a gritty Northwestern team, winning Saturday in dramatic fashion, 34-29.

Before Saturday, Paterno's team hadn't won a Big Ten road game against a team, other than Indiana, in 15 attempts. It almost turned into 16.

In a game filled with memorable plays, arguably the most important came on fourth-and-15, with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the Lions backed up deep in their own territory. Quarterback Michael Robinson hit tight end Isaac Smolko over the middle for a 20-yard gain to extend the drive.

"When it was fourth-and-15, if you think negative, negative things are going to happen," de-fensive end Tamba Hali said. "All I did was believe that Mike was going to get the ball completed."

Smolko's reception led to the game-winning touchdown, scored by freshman wide receiver Derrick Williams, with 51 seconds left in the game. The touchdown was the first of Williams' career, and it couldn't have come at a more opportune time.

In the locker room after the game, Williams described the mood.

"It was just a lot of joy. It was a great thing," he said. "We needed to win coming from behind, so we could establish what kind of team we are."

At the start of the second quarter, the Lions found themselves trailing 13-0. It was the first time this season the Lions trailed in a game. It seemed as if the offense and defense weren't playing to their potential, simultaneously, for the first time this year.

The Lions defense allowed Wildcats quarterback Brett Basanez to march down the field on a 16-play, 80-yard drive to open the game. As the game progressed, the defense steadily improved, but, for much of the first half, it was put in some tough situations as Robinson threw three interceptions and fumbled the ball away close to the goal line. In the second half, the defense gave up only six points, which kept the Lions within striking distance.

"Our defense came up big in the end. They gave up some points, but they came up big in the end," Robinson said. "We put them in a lot of tough situations today. A couple of those touchdowns, I figured, it was on the offense."

In the end, the Lions are 4-0 for the first time since 1999. In the first half, they fought against themselves more than the Wildcats, eventually overcoming their own errors to earn the victory they coveted most.

"We came into their house and got a win on the road. We haven't won on the road in a long time, so it's huge," Hali said.

When it was over, Paterno exited through the tunnel to a chorus of cheers from the Lions faithful who made the trip. He smiled. He waved. He was relieved that his team never quit.

"Obviously, we're in a stage of getting good," Paterno said. "I think you only get good when you overcome some adversity."