I think there are two primary reasons:
1. Pressure - a lot of the Iowa guys wrestle right. They are afraid to lose. When you look at Cael, he preaches that the matches don’t matter. Winning and losing doesn’t matter. Control your attitude and effort. This approach allows his guys to wrestle more freely. This is the exact opposite of “win you live, lose you die” mentality. If you really think a wrestling match is life or death, your going to be extremely cautious and nervous.
2. The other is technique. I think Iowa is often getting beat in the scrambles which is where most d1 wrestling happens. I don’t think their coaches spend a lot of time teaching things like far ankle scrambles, nor do I think they do the types of practice plans that develop those skills (such as play wrestling). Being scared of scramble positions also makes one hesitant to engage.