HOUSTON -- The Houston Cougars will be without their best player against the No. 21 South Florida Bulls on Saturday.
All-American defensive tackle Ed Oliver will not play against the Bulls after suffering a knee contusion in the second half of a 49-36 victory against Navy on Oct. 20. He missed practices early in the week.
Oliver, a junior who declared for the NFL draft before the season, is ranked No. 2 on Mel Kiper's latest Big Board of 2019 draft prospects. He won the Outland Trophy as a sophomore and is widely considered a potential top-five NFL draft pick next spring.
This season, Oliver has 51 tackles -- tops among all FBS defensive linemen -- and 13.5 tackles for loss, which ranks fifth nationally among all defensive players and No. 1 among FBS defensive tackles.