BYU Leading Rusher LJ Martin Likely Out vs. Texas
The BYU Cougars will likely be without their leading rusher LJ Martin after sustaining an injury in Week 8 against Texas Tech. Martin will likely miss out on a matchup in Austin against Steve Sarkisian and the seventh-ranked Texas Longhorns.
The true freshman currently leads the BYU backfield with 96 carries for 438 yards and four scores while averaging a solid 4.6 yards per carry on the season.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake spoke to the voice of the Cougars, Greg Wrubell, before the game and about the status of LJ Martin saying, “Doesn’t look good. We’ll see in pregame, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be available.”
BYU’s rushing attack has been hit-or-miss at times this season but with Martin averaging 9.3 YPC in his last outing against Texas Tech before leaving with an injury, the loss is a big one for Sitake’s offense.
The Cougars now turn to junior running back Aidan Robbins to handle the bulk of carries in Martin’s absence. Robbins and the rest of the Cougars’ backfield have totaled 59 carries for 181 yards and one score this season.
Sitake and the Cougars take the field as 20.5-point underdogs against the Longhorns in Austin on Saturday with hopes of making some waves in the AP Top 25 in Week 10 in the event that the squad can pull off a massive upset. The Cougars and Longhorns take the field in Week 9 at 2:30 PM CT on ESPN.
