This year was the worst as far as questionable calls, but I think the lack of talent is what causes them to begin with. (1) He the patchwork o-line took away some of the playbook, making the playcalling look unimaginative. (2) Whenever he makes a bad call, he's rarely going to get bailed out by his players' talent. (3) When you're overmatched, sometimes you have to take some risks, even risks that are bad risks statistically, in order to give yourself a chance to win.
I think Mullen has proven in the UK and UM games that when the talent matchup is in his favor, he's perfectly willing to go conventional in his play-calling, limit turnovers, and take the win. When the talent match up is significantly in his favor, he may take some risks he "shouldn't", but it's yet to burn us, although La Tech is one where it could have.