Brandon Graham, Evan Royster trade words on Michigan-Penn State

Penn State hasn’t won at Michigan Stadium since 1996, but Nittany Lions tailback Evan Royster expects that streak to end Saturday.

“I think we feel like we’re the better team and we can go out there and still beat them," Royster told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for a story published Tuesday.

Brandon Graham’s message to Royster: Prove it.

“He’s just going to have to show it,” Graham said on a teleconference. “We’re going to come. They better come hard, cause we’re coming. I just don’t think they really know. How much preparation and how much we’ve been waiting for this game since last year. If he feels pretty confident, they better prepare. That’s all I have to say.”

Graham said he’s still bitter about Michigan’s 46-17 loss to Penn State last year. Michigan scored the game’s first 10 points and led 17-14 at halftime, but Penn State scored 32 unanswered in the second half for the win.

The Wolverines (5-2, 1-2) host No. 13 Penn State (6-1, 2-1) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC/ESPN). Michigan has won nine of the last 10 in the series.

“We had them last year, we just didn’t finish the game,” Graham said. “The score might not say we had the chance, but from the first half leading, and then come out and get beat like that, it was just not acceptable. So we just got to go out there, do what we know how to do.”

Told of Graham's comments Tuesday afternoon, Royster reiterated his feelings during a separate teleconference.

"I was just saying that it's something we kind of have to go in the game with, we have to go in with a confident attitude," he said. "It's not to make anybody mad or anything like that. It's just we feel we are the better team and we want to go out and show we can be one of the better teams in the country and we have to beat Michigan to do that."

Michael Rothstein contributed to this report. Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.