Friday’s Battle of Alberta looks like it will be a clash of unexpected quarterbacks

Many likely circled Friday's Battle of Alberta between the Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders (10 p.m. Eastern, TSN/ESPN3) on their calendar at the start of the season, but few would have expected it to feature these particular quarterbacks. The rash of quarterback injuries that's struck the league this year (plus the less-than-stellar play of Steven Jyles and Kerry Joseph even when they've been fully healthy) means that Matt Nichols, who began the year as the Eskimos' third-stringer and has thrown seven CFL passes (all this year), will be getting the start for Edmonton. Calgary isn't starting their top quarterback either, as Drew Tate's still recovering from his early-season injury, but at least they're only on second-stringer Kevin Glenn. It's not the ideal situation either team would have envisioned at the start of the season, but there's a lot on the line Friday, and which replacement quarterback does better may go a long way towards deciding it.

Nichols' start is more unexpected, and he's a larger wildcard. He's shown some potential since Edmonton picked him up in 2010, but has barely played in games; in fact, he didn't record a single regular-season statistic before this year. What's also interesting is that while the Eskimos say Nichols is starting because Jyles and Joseph aren't completely healthy, they're suiting up as the second and third quarterbacks Friday night. Of course, there is a distinction between "healthy enough to play" and "playing at 100 per cent", and that's likely what the case is here. Given the less-than-dominant showings of Jyles and Joseph to date, though, there are some who would be calling for Nichols to get a shot even if the other two were completely healthy. How he'll do is unknown; he stood out in college at Eastern Washington University and has had two-plus years to learn the CFL game, but has never been seen much action in a game situation. This will be a baptism by fire for Nichols, and we'll see how scorched he gets.

Glenn is more of a known quantity. The Stampeders were exceptionally fortunate to have a backup with his experience (he's been a long-time number-one quarterback in this league, and was Hamilton's starter in 2011) able to step in when Tate went down, and his solid (if largely not spectacular) play thus far is a key reason why Calgary's 7-5 and second in the West Division despite a laundry list of injuries. However, Glenn's start this week is slightly unexpected and has raised questions given the prolojnged headache and other potential concussion symptoms he exhibited after taking a hard hit late in Sunday's game. The Stampeders say Glenn has passed their doctor-administered concussion tests and does not have a concussion, so he'll be under centre Friday night, which avoids them having to start CFL rookie Bo Levi Mitchell.

Interestingly enough, the Calgary offence has been on fire lately and has risen to second overall in points per game (28.1) heading into Friday's clash; they're more middling in other categories, though, including yards per game (375.1, fourth) and gain per rush (5.5 yards, tied for fourth). Still, Glenn's looking good under centre and is proving a useful complement to the strong ground game they have with noted displayer of lunar effects Jon Cornish. Meanwhile, Edmonton's second-last in yards per game (322.4) and passing yards per game (259.7), which says a lot about why they're willing to shake things up and roll the dice with Nichols. We'll see how effectively the Stamps' experienced pivot and the Esks' inexperienced passer run their respective offences Friday night, and the results may well determine the outcome of this Battle of Alberta.