BYU running back Sione Moa is out for the 2026 season after tearing the MCL and PCL in his right knee, the redshirt sophomore announced Wednesday on social media. The injury occurred in the first quarter of BYU’s season-opening win over Utah Tech on September 5, when Moa was rolled up on awkwardly during a tackle. He did not return to the game and underwent surgery this week.

Moa’s announcement comes just three days before No. 15 BYU hosts Arizona in Provo on Saturday, and it caps a whirlwind week in which head coach Kalani Sitake initially said none of the Cougars’ Week 1 injuries were season-ending. By Wednesday’s Big 12 injury report, Moa was already ruled out for the Arizona game, and his own update confirmed the damage was more extensive than first believed, with cartilage damage in the same knee adding to the setback.

A Second Straight Major Setback for Moa

The injury marks the second consecutive season in which Moa has been sidelined by a serious health issue. In 2025, he battled compartment syndrome that cost him ten games and, by his own account, nearly resulted in the loss of his leg. He had returned to full strength for 2026 and was locked in as BYU’s clear RB2 behind Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year LJ Martin, a role he’d earned with 258 yards and four touchdowns on 53 carries across 11 career games. Against Utah Tech, Moa logged 22 yards on six carries before exiting for good on just his seventh snap of the season.

In his social media statement, Moa wrote that he was “recovering from surgery, with an attitude of gratitude once again” and noted that football is “only but a small part” of his joy — a message that echoed the resilience he showed during last year’s recovery. No return timetable has been given, but surgically repaired MCL and PCL injuries typically sideline players for months, if they return at all within the same season.

Depth Chart Fallout Behind LJ Martin

With Moa out, BYU’s coaching staff will lean on a trio of backs to fill the void behind Martin: Preston Rex, who won the RB3 job over the summer and made the position switch from safety; true freshman Devaughn Eka, who was also seeing time as a kick returner; and Journee Tonga, who now becomes a more relevant name in the rotation. None of the three carries Martin’s proven workload, and BYU — which entered the year with designs on the College Football Playoff and its first-ever appearance — now has considerably less margin for error if Martin were to miss time of his own.

What It Means for BYU’s Betting Market

The news lands squarely in the middle of BYU’s biggest test to date. The Cougars opened as roughly a touchdown-and-a-half favorite over Arizona for Saturday’s home game, with the spread sitting near BYU -7.5 and the total in the high 40s, and BYU’s moneyline priced deep into favorite territory. That line was built with the expectation that Moa would still be available in relief of Martin, so his removal from the equation puts extra weight on both BYU’s offensive line holding up over a full game and Martin staying healthy behind a suddenly thinner room.

Zoom out to the season-long market, and BYU had been priced as one of the sport’s more interesting playoff value plays. Preseason futures had the Cougars around +330 to reach the 12-team field and their win total set at 8.5, with the market leaning toward the over after last year’s 11-win breakthrough. A loss of proven depth at a skill position doesn’t change BYU’s ceiling with Martin healthy, but it thins the cushion in exactly the kind of injury-attrition scenario that can derail a playoff push over a 12-game slate. For bettors watching BYU’s season-long numbers, Moa’s absence is the kind of depth-chart development that can matter more in November than it does on paper in September — particularly if Martin’s workload or health becomes a storyline as Big 12 play intensifies.