LJ Martin is key storyline entering No. 9 BYU’s road showdown at No. 3 Utah
Nov 6, 2026, 3:45 PM
SALT LAKE CITY — LJ Martin will be a top storyline entering Saturday morning’s BYU-Utah rivalry game.
That star running back hasn’t played since the third drive of BYU’s 17-10 win at TCU on October 3rd when he suffered an ankle injury.
He’s in week five of his reported four-to-six-week recovery timetable.
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This week, he returned to practice in preparation to potentially give it a go against No. 3 Utah.
LJ Martin listed at “Questionable” entering BYU-Utah game
Martin is currently listed as “Questionable” for Saturday’s game on the Big 12 availability report. Under the Big 12 availability reporting policy, that makes Martin’s playing status a 50-50 proposition.
An availability update will be posted 90 minutes before kickoff, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Martin listed as a “Game-Time Decision” then.
During his Monday press conference, Utah head coach Morgan Scalley said they are putting in their defensive game plan with the mindset that Martin will be playing.
Only two players in the Big 12 this season have gone from starting the week as “DOUBTFUL” to “Available” in the final report. A handful of others progressed to “Game-Time Decisions” over the course of the week.
BYU has sorely missed its star running back.
In three games and a quarter this season, Martin has rushed for 344 yards on 44 carries and three touchdowns.
BYU’s ground attack struggled last week against Arizona State, putting up only 47 rushing yards. Part of that was because BYU lost 23 yards trying to drain the clock at the end of regulation and avoid giving ASU the ball back.
Still, BYU’s rushing attack has been regressing in Martin’s absence.
Making pregame warmups inside Rice-Eccles Stadium a must-see event for the status of BYU’s star ball carrier, who is the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
One player in the running back unit that’s ready to go is Preston Rex, according to BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick.
The rest of BYU’s running back unit includes Sione Moa, Journee Tonga, and Devaughn Eka.
Performances on the ground without Martin
BYU rushed for 177 yards in the first full game without Martin against Iowa State on October 9. But that trend has been reversing.
In the upset win over Notre Dame, BYU rushed for an effective 121 yards against one of the nation’s best rush defenses. At UCF, BYU only rushed for 116, then 47 against Arizona State.
Now they prepare for a Utah defense that is 22nd nationally in rush defense, allowing only 101.4 yards per game on the ground.
In the Utes’ last two home games against Kansas and Houston, they have only allowed 58 and 86 yards on the ground, respectively.
Utah allowed 193 on the ground last week in a 49-25 win at Cincinnati, but 120 of that came in the second half with the game already out of reach.
No. 9 BYU vs. No. 3 Utah
Date: Saturday, November 7, 2026
Kickoff: 10 a.m. (MST)
TV/Stream: ABC
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSL and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
