Quarterback depth is being tested like never before in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

Injury is the leading culprit as six Valley teams have had to dip down for a second signal-caller this season.

No. 3-ranked Southern Illinois is the latest squad to take a hit at quarterback as starter Chris Dieker suffered a broken clavicle last Saturday and will miss the rest of the season.

Army transfer and redshirt freshman Paul McIntosh replaced Dieker in last week's 27-8 win over Youngstown State. McIntosh completed 10 of 14 passes for 133 yards and also rushed for 81 yards.

"Any time you lose a top player it does hurt your team overall. Everybody needs to pick up their level of play," Southern coach Dale Lennon said. "But we have good players waiting to step in. Paul had a good debut. He was part of seven drives and we scored five times."

Illinois State has survived the loss of Drew Kiel to a thumb injury in its season opener. Redshirt freshman Matt Brown has completed 65 percent of his passes and already ranks 18th in Redbird history with 150 completions and 20th with 1,611 yards.

"Matt has played very well. When you've got a young quarterback like this, the future is very exciting," ISU coach Brock Spack said. "He will be a premier player for us, maybe a Payton (Award) type guy down the road."

South Dakota State has not missed a beat since an injury to quarterback Ryan Crawford. Redshirt freshman Thomas O'Brien has completed 69 of 105 for the No. 9-ranked Jackrabbits, but Crawford is nearing a return.

"If Ryan is healthy, he will be the guy," SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier said of Saturday's game at Youngstown State. "He was not totally healthy (Tuesday), but we've got two more days. Right now it's still up in the air."

Two other redshirt freshmen have ascended to a starting job. At Western Illinois, Wil Lunt replaced the injured Matt Barr. North Dakota State sat veteran quarterback Nick Mertens in favor of youngster Jose Mohler.

Indiana State's recent installation of Ryan Roberts at quarterback paid dividends in last week's 17-14 triumph over Western.

Sycamores rejoice: That Indiana State victory snapped the nation's longest losing streak at 33 games.

"We saw some young men rewarded for all their hard work. We saw some joy in their eyes," Sycamores' coach Trent Miles said. "We don't go in saying we need to break the streak. We don't spend time dwelling on negatives.

"It's happened, it's over with, let's go on and start a better streak that is something positive."

Around the Valley: With South Dakota State and Southern Illinois both at 5-0, it is the third time in league history two teams started 5-0 in conference games.

The Jacks and Salukis meet on Nov. 7 in Brookings, S.D.

The Valley has four of the Championship Subdivision's top six rushers. SIU's Deji Karim leads the nation at 146.4 yards per game with North Dakota State's Pat Paschall second at 145.3.

South Dakota State's Kyle Minett is fourth at 114.1 and Western's Dre Gibbs ranks sixth at 112.3.

Karim is second nationally in all-purpose yardage (202.9), while ISU's Eyad Salem is second in receptions per game (8.7).

Quarterback quiz

Six of the nine Missouri Valley Football Conference teams have changed quarterbacks since the season opener. Here's a look at the Valley's quarterback picture:

School......Week 1 QB...Current QB

Illinois State......Drew Kiel...Matt Brown

Indiana State......Chris Stutziem...Ryan Roberts

Missouri State......Cody Kirby...Cody Kirby

N. Dakota State...Nick Mertens...Jose Mohler...

Northern Iowa......Pat Grace...Pat Grace

S. Dakota State...Ryan Crawford...Thomas O'Brien

Southern Illinois...Chris Dieker...Paul McIntosh

Western Illinois...Matt Barr...Wil Lunt

Youngstown State...Brandon Summers...Brandon Summers