As Notre Dame prepares for Stanford this weekend, it knows that when it heads to Provo in two weeks, it will face off against a BYU squad without its best offensive weapon, LJ Martin.
On Wednesday night, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that Martin will miss at least a month with a lower-body injury he sustained in the game against TCU. Martin's prognosis officially has him out for four to six weeks and there is zero chance he'll be available when the Irish visit on October 17 for a showdown between two teams that could be in the Top 10.
Martin carried the ball just twice for 16 yards in last week's Cougars' win over TCU before exiting the game. With 4:40 remaining in the first quarter, Martin was pulled down awkwardly, jogged off the field with a slight limp, and did not return. With Martin out, the Cougars were without their top two running backs, as Sione Moa was already sidelined with an injury he suffered in Week 1.
Notre Dame, a defense already stingy against the run, will now face a BYU offense searching for answers. The No. 8 Cougars offense had been high-flying, scoring at least 28 points in any game where Martin handled the bulk of the carries. However, his absence was immediately felt against the Horned Frogs, as BYU had to grind out a 17-10 win.
Notre Dame football will face BYU without Big 12 star running back LJ Martin
Before the injury, Martin, the 2025 Big 12 offensive player of the year, was the key cog in his team's offense. In the first three games, Martin rushed for 42 carries, 328 yards, and 3 touchdowns. He also contributed in the passing game, catching five passes for 41 yards. In his career, Martin has piled up 2,885 rushing yards, 439 receiving yards, and 29 total touchdowns. He'll be a hard weapon to replace for a team hoping to upset No. 3, Notre Dame.
A lack of depth at running back isn't ideal for BYU, a team that thrives when it runs the ball effectively. The Cougars rank 16th nationally and fourth in the Big 12 with 235.5 rushing yards per game.
With Martin out, BYU's leading rusher was quarterback Bear Bachmeier, who carried 15 times for 66 yards, including a 21-yard run. He found the end zone twice but seemingly struggled as the offense's focal point, completing just 11 of 24 passes for 62 yards against unranked TCU.
In 2026, Bachmeier has completed 64.9% of his passes for just 704 yards, seven touchdowns, and one interception. BYU's 179.8 passing yards per game rank 114th nationally.
None of those numbers are ideal against a Notre Dame defense that ranks first in the country in yards per game allowed (216.6), 13th in the country against the pass (158.2) and No. 4 in the nation against the run (58.4). The Fighting Irish are also seventh in the sport, allowing just 11.8 points per game.
It's hardly a surprise that defensive coordinator Chris Ash's unit is one of the best in the country. Notre Dame won't have to find a way to stop LJ Martin as it enters its toughest stretch of the schedule, which isn't ideal for a BYU team hoping to effectively punch its ticket to the College Football Playoff with an upset win on October 17.
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