maybe even McNeese State.

I just think oddities can't be consistently counted on. Things like special team TDs, defensive TDs, turnovers deep in the opponent's territory setting up easy scores, trick play TDs, and relying on 4th down conversions to sustain scoring drives.

So, we are off to a better start than last season, but as I said in the OP, how might the fact we needed 4th down conversions for 1/3 of our points translate to outcomes in Big 12 play?

14 less points, or 14 point swings, in conference games is the difference between a W and a L.

Last year we lost the Kansas game because of 2 dumb plays. If we had played cleaner, that could have been an easy win.
We couldn't close out Oklahoma State last year because they didn't play like a FCS school. We didn't put together enough scoring drives in the second half.
The 100 yard pick-6 in the OU game was a game changer. 14 point swing. Against an FCS opponent, it might have been dropped or just batted down (or maybe even a TD for BYU) since the quality of opponent is less. But, the Sooners made it the difference in the game because they are not obligated to play us at the same level as a FCS opponent.

I hope coaches and players are looking for areas to improve. They can't have the mentality that what works against FCS opponents will work against P4 opponents.