Fresh off yet another blowout win, the Notre Dame football team faces a Top 10 opponent on Saturday for the first time this season. That means the Irish have a chance to make a statement, but beating a BYU team without its best offensive player will also give naysayers an easy excuse.
L.J. Martin suffered a lower-body injury in BYU’s 17-10 win over TCU last week, and the immediate prognosis was that he’d be out for several weeks. Martin sat out the Cougars’ most recent game, a 24-10 victory over Iowa State, and on Sunday, head coach Kalani Sitake confirmed Martin won’t play against the Irish.
Because Martin won’t play, FanDuel Sportsbook set the spread for Sunday’s game with Notre Dame as the 10.5-point favorite. That’s extremely unusual for a team visiting a Top 10 opponent, and BYU’s offense clearly looking like a one-man band without Martin helped shape the line.
The running back started the 2026 campaign strong, rushing for 344 yards and 3 touchdowns while averaging 7.9 yards per carry. That followed a campaign that earned him 2025 Big 12 Offensive MVP honors. Last year he ran for over 1,300 yards and 12 TDs while catching 36 passes for 255 yards.
LJ Martin injury gives Notre Dame football detractors ammunition ahead of Top-10 BYU clash
Since Martin went down, BYU’s offense has relied almost entirely on quarterback Bear Bachmeier. Against TCU, Bachmeier threw for just 62 yards, but he carried 15 times for 66 yards and 2 touchdowns. His numbers were even more impressive against Iowa State.
Bachmeier completed 22 of 30 passes for 329 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Cyclones on Saturday. He also carried the ball 9 times for 109 yards.
Neither TCU nor Iowa State’s defense is anywhere near Notre Dame’s level. If any team should be able to shut down the Cougars’ one big weapon, it's the Fighting Irish. That is the heart of the argument.
And for one reason or another, analysts across the country love to discount how good Notre Dame is every chance they get. Martin’s injury gives those naysayers a built-in reason to claim the Golden Domers’ schedule is still smoke and mirrors, and that despite what should be a solid win over a Top 10 team, the No. 2 program in the country “isn’t as good as their record.”
Irish fans shouldn’t care all that much yet, but the time of season when national perception matters far more is creeping up quickly.
After starting the year 0-2 against Miami and Texas A&M last year, Notre Dame rolled off 10 straight wins and finished the season looking like they’d get a College Football Playoff bid right up until the CFP Committee announced the Irish were out.
Notre Dame’s big test this season comes on November 7 when it hosts the No. 3 Miami Hurricanes. If they win, they’re almost certainly in the playoffs unless something goes horribly wrong late in the year.
If Marcus Freeman and Co. beat everyone but Miami, they should make it in, too. However, the arguments against them getting a berth will be much louder. It’s a bummer that one of those arguments will almost certainly be that Notre Dame’s win over BYU wasn’t nearly as impressive because they didn’t have to face LJ Martin.
Add us as a preferred source on Google