By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Around Trevor Lauck, it’s hard not to smile just from the positive vibe that he brings.

The Iowa football team’s starting left tackle doesn’t attend all the weekly press conferences on Tuesdays, but when does show up, as was the case this Tuesday, he brightens up things with his sense of humor and sarcasm.

Lauck can certainly talk about serious issues, but the lighter side is never too far away for the 6-foot-5, 314-pounder from Indianapolis.

He was among eight Iowa players that were made available to the media on Tuesday, and there was obviously plenty to discuss, from the miraculous win at Michigan last Saturday to the challenge of facing Ohio State this Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Lauck addressed all of it in vintage Lauck fashion, meaning with a mix of humor, seriousness, and even some grace.

If he wasn’t talking about what makes Ohio State so good, he was reflecting on the 20-19 come-from-behind win over Michigan, which was decided by a 16-yard touchdown catch by Reece Vander Zee as time expired.

As Lauck rushed over to celebrate with his teammates in the corner of the end zone, he was shoved by Michigan defensive back Chris Bracy, but the force of the shove had no effect as Lauck easily brushed it aside and kept running.

Lauck was aware that he had been shoved when it happened, but he gave it no thought, probably because he was delirious from the thrill of winning in the Big House on the final play of the game.

Lauck has since watched video of the end zone celebration, including the part where he was shoved, and when asked about it on Tuesday, Lauck sort of defended the Michigan player who shoved him.

“I was aware that he pushed me, but in his defense, I was running down there pretty fast, honestly,” Lauck said. “And if you saw me running down there like you’d probably try and brace, too.

“So I don’t want him to seem like the bad guy here. I was running down there and he might have been scared that I was running at him. But I didn’t even really feel it in real time until I saw some videos and stuff of it.”

That seems to be Lauck’s way of taking the high road in this case, and he also brings up a good point about seeing a 300-pound guy rumbling towards you and then reacting to it.

The Michigan players were obviously devastated and maybe even a little in shock because of how the game had ended.

So Lauck apparently is willing to take that into consideration, and he has no hard feelings, which says something about him.

He and his fellow Iowa offensive linemen do have a hard task ahead of them, though, against the Buckeyes.

Iowa managed to escape from the Big House with a win despite only rushing for 58 yards, and Iowa also defeated Iowa State 16-13 while rushing for fewer than 100 yards.

But neither Michigan nor Iowa State have anywhere close to the firepower that Ohio State has on offense, so it’s hard to see Iowa prevailing without scoring more than 20 points, but it’s hard to see Iowa scoring more than 20 points without being able to run the ball.

Ohio State might just be the most talented team in the country, with former four- and five-star recruits up and down the roster.

Iowa, on the other hand, has a few former four-star recruits on the roster, including Lauck, and Iowa occasionally lands a five-star prospect every now and then.

Lauck showed his serious side on Tuesday when asked how Iowa is able to compete with the traditional power programs despite the disadvantages.

“You’ve got to put the tam before yourself 100 percent and just kind of move on,” Lauck said. “It can be easy, like if I have a bad play, it could be easy to be in my head sand not move on to the next (play).

“But it’s more like a team aspect, you’ve got to be able to put your successes and your ego to the side and know that you’re just there to try and help the team win, and nothing more and nothing less.”

Iowa is described as a developmental program under Kirk Ferentz, and his the current team certainly supports that perception with multiple players that have stayed the course at Iowa, even in this age of the transfer portal and NIL.

Iowa’s starting offensive line consists of four fourth-year players and one fifth-year player in senior right tackle Jack Dotzler.

All five of the starting offensive have only attended Iowa, and three of them are first-year starters.

Lauck and right guard Kade Pieper are the two returning starters on the offensive line from last season, with each earning third-team all-Big Ten a year ago.

They will both have a lot to say about whether Iowa can run the ball against the Buckeyes, whose defense gave up 199 rushing yards and a whopping 462 yards overall in a 42-19 victory over Illinois last Saturday.

All the pain, suffering and sacrifices that the players make throughout the year are for moments like the one coming on Saturday.

“Our training in the summer and year around is no joke, it’s extremely difficult and it taches us to not only physically improve our bodies, but  I think mental toughness is a real big thing that they teach in the offseason,” Lauck said of the Iowa coaches. “I don’t know what the other schools do but I thin here’s it’s pretty high level, so I think we’re pretty fortunate for that.”

No. 5 Ohio State (3-1, 1-0) vs. No. 14 Iowa (4-0, 1-0)

When: Saturday, 2:39 p.m.

Where: Kinnick Stadium, (69,250)

TV: CBS

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network

Series history: Saturday’s game is the 68th all-time meeting in aseries that began in 1922. Ohio State leads the all-time
series, 49-15-3, and the Buckeyes have won 15 of the last 17 contests.

Iowa is welcoming the Buckeyes to Kinnick for the first time since 2017 and just the third time since 2010.

Ohio State holds a 17-7-2 advantage in games in Iowa City, winning seven of the last nine meetings. Iowa won
the 55-24 on Nov. 4, 2017, and 33-7 in 2004.

Ohio State has been ranked in the top 10 in each of the last eight meetings.

Iowa has beaten Ohio State and Michigan in the same season just once in program history. The Hawkeyes beat both the Buckeyes and Wolverines by the score of 28-14 during the 1962 season.

Saturday’s game is the fifth time Iowa has been scheduled to play Ohio State and Michigan in consecutive weeks and for the first time since 1997.