Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell is just 14 passing yards shy of 30,000 for his career entering Friday night’s game at Ottawa.
With just three regular season games left, Mitchell’s Stampeders (5-6) are trying to get back to .500 while the host Redblacks (2-9) are looking to snap a four-game losing streak.
Mitchell has thrown for 29,986 yards since launching his CFL career with Calgary in 2012. He would become the 18th passer in league history to reach the 30K milestone.
Calgary wide receiver Marquay McDaniel thinks the 31-year-old Mitchell is just getting started.
“I could see him getting in that 60,000 range easily, depending on how long he plays and hopefully him staying healthy,” McDaniel said to the team’s website. “I mean Bo is still so young, you know having all these records and still chasing records that he can actually hit, I think he’s definitely putting together a Hall of Fame career.”
Mitchell passed for 311 yards and a touchdown last Saturday but also threw three interceptions as the Stampeders saw their three-game winning streak end in a 20-17 loss to Saskatchewan.
He will be facing an Ottawa defense that surrendered 337 passing yards in a 32-3 loss to Hamilton last Saturday. The Redblacks are just 1-4 at home this season and haven’t won anywhere since Sept. 28.
Ottawa will be without three key players in the secondary, with defensive backs Sherrod Baltimore (hip), Antoine Pruneau (hand) and Don Unamba (bicep) all on the shelf.
“We’ve got some guys who have been here for a long time and we expect those guys to go out and perform,” Redblacks coach Paul LaPolice told TSN. “Like anything else, next man up. Guys get hurt and you have to play the next play. Those guys had a good week of practice and we expect good things.”
The Stampeders are mostly healthy, with wide receiver Josh Huff (illness) back after missing two games.
As they fight for a playoff spot in the CFL West, Calgary players scoffed at the notion that last-place Ottawa is a trap game.
“We’re under .500, so I don’t think we have the right to say we have any trap games,” defensive tackle Derek Wiggan told the Calgary Sun. “We’re an under .500 team. We’ve got to win, plain and simple.”
–Field Level Media
