Iowa's offensive AND defensive strategy is consistent with what talent it can consistently recruit.Iowa's offensive strategy is defense.
If Iowa were to field the sort of O that Oklahoma or Ohio State utilize ... and then try to play that style of ball against them ... we'd lose every time!
Their D would "out-athlete" our O ... and our D would likely never get off the field. That's not a winning recipe.
Instead, we play a brand of ball that limits the number of possessions for BOTH teams. Our D may still be stuck on the field a good bit ... but the deliberate tempo of our O will still keep them off the field for some while. Furthermore, by featuring OL play that typically is decent ... to complement multi-TE sets ... that tends to dictate things to opposing Ds. It also often gives us some mismatches that we can use to move the ball ... helping us to flip field-position. Combine that with special teams that kicks field goals and celebrates the motto "punting is winning" ... that helps Iowa to keep games close.
The end result of all this ... the Hawks still place an enormous premium on making sure that we keep the defense well-stocked personnel-wise. A strong defense is a requisite for the strategy that we implement to win games.