Why BYU Rushing Attack Could Be A Major Problem For Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech will have a major task on its hands when it plays BYU in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Saturday. The first order of business will be to slow down the run against the No.35 rushing offense in the NCAA. BYU averages 184.4 yards per game and has been tough to stop this season.

The Yellow Jackets come in ranked No.92 in rush defense and have struggled to contain the run all season. It has been an area of weakness all season. We have seen a number of games running backs have gone off.

You can point back to NC State when the defense couldn’t get a stop, and backup running back Jayden “Duke” Scott finished with 196 yards and a touchdown in the 48-36 win. True freshman Ja’Kyrian Turner has a career night against Georgia Tech in an ACC title berth clinching game, rushing for 201 yards and a game-clinching touchdown. Georgia despite being shut down through the air and held to 16 points, rushed for 190 yards against the Yellow Jackets in their 16-9 win.

It is an issue that has been present all season for the Yellow Jackets. It won’t get any easier against BYU, who has one of the best running backs in the Big 12 in LJ Martin. Martin led the conference with 1,305 rushing yards and was second in the Big 12 with 12 touchdowns. He had a number of games where he made the defensive pay for not accounting for him. Here is a deeper look at Martin and why he is dangerous.

“Martin had his best game on the road against Cincinnati, where he posted a season-high 222 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Martin posted the second-highest Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade on offense this season with an 84.0 grade on 699 total snaps. He finished with an impressive 86.0 run grade for the Cougars and was a part of a well-balanced attack on offense.”

Why Martin could be a major problem

latest — BYU Cougars running back LJ Martin (4) scores a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the NCAA football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and BYU Cougars at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Nov. 22, 2025. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It is pretty simple. Martin is a tough ball carrier to bring down on the first hit. He has great contact balance and can bounce off tacklers for long gains. He had 36 runs for 10+ yards. To bring home that point even further, Martin had 893 yards after contact in 2025. His best game was against Cincinnati, where he posted 222 yards, 149 of which came after contact. One hit is not going to bring down this dynamic running back. Georgia Tech will need to have 11 hats to the ootball. Oftentimes, you would see Georgia Tech rally to the ball and deliver the hit, but not wrap up. They can’t afford to do that against Martin.

He is also an underrated pass catcher who can exploit linebackers with routes he runs or just simple checkdowns and dumpoffs. He finished with 255 receiving yards on 36 catches this season. He posted the highest receiving grade of his three-year career with a 69.8 receiving score. Georgia Tech has shown the ability to cover well in the secondary, but the linebackers must also be able to make tackles 1 on 1 and in space against Martin. A great player they should put on him that can match Martin’s physicality and athleticism is Cayman Spaulding, who has been playing well as of late. Not saying that he is going to completely stop him in the game, but Spaulding can help in containing him.

If Georgia Tech wants to get that 10th win of the season, they must hold Martin to under 100 yards, or it could be a long day and be the Yellow Jackets fourth loss in the past five games.

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