...Baylor made defensive adjustments and Rodrick wasn't able to counter those which is why BYU barely squeaked out the win after being bailed out again by the defense (Wakely's pick) which is what also had to happen vs SMU.
This inability to by dynamic in his game planning is one of the primary areas where I feel he struggles. If he's going up against lesser DC's he's going to do ok generally. However, with Aranda for example, while he seems to struggle as a HC, he's a really good DC and he has taken over play calling for their defense as he's fighting to keep his job right now. And whatever adjustments he made at halftime completely shut Arods offensive scheme right down (combined with some lack of execution to be objective)
But my biggest issues with Arod are not his play calling which I feel is generally adequate (other than his ability to pivot and make adjustments in real-time during games as mentioned above) ...It's his executive/administrative leadership abilities that concerns me most long term-- essentially everything outside of games/ game planning/ play calling. He just isn't a natural leader from everything I have seen over the years... he's kind of like Baylor's Aranda in that he's just too quiet, doesn't inspire, often times awkward when speaking in public. He seems very passive, submissive.
And the biggest issue with Rodrick, IMO, is you can't have a great offense without great players and Arod has a terrible track record in recruiting and missing on recruits that should be shoo-ins for BYU. I can't help but compare him to what Jay Hill has been able to do in a very short period of time vs Tuiaki (Jay is very inspiring to listen to and detailed and dynamic... everything that I described above that I can tell) ...and Kevin Young on the Bball side of things, proving that BYU really CAN get top talent, while ignoring all the historic negativity of how BYU will never get top-tier athletes. This is what true leaders do and their abilities to turn things around and fix longstanding cultural negatives, etc. Right now the defense has an awesome culture... you hear it in every player's interview. The offense on the other hand, does not appear to be nearly as close as the D when you listen to the two player groups speak publicly. I know we can get these high-level recruits to BYU-- not all of them, but much better than what Arod has been able to pull.
He was good as a QB coach where he could focus on what he is best at and not have to worry about the broader executive/admin responsibilities (like recruiting and building culture, etc.). I just don't think he has that in him, unfortunately.