For three games this season, Eastern Michigan ran a two-quarterback system.

Now, the Eagles are flying on the back of one quarterback, Kyle McMahon. Former starter Andy Schmitt has been sidelined for the past two weeks with his left arm in a sling.

“Yeah, I got e-mails and messages from people saying ‘you’re injured again?’… with the emphasis on the word ‘again,'” Schmitt said,

McMahon has shown he can play though. Last week against Maryland, the sophomore completed 25-of-37 passes for 278-yards and two touchdowns.

Last season, as a true freshman, McMahon started against Northwestern at Ford Field in Detroit. In the 26-14 loss, the quarterback completed 28-of-48 passes for 282-yards. He also ran with the ball 13 times for 44-yards and two touchdowns.

However, there’s a reason why McMahon was the second string quarterback starting this season. Last year he threw three touchdowns compared to nine interceptions.

It seems interceptions are still a problem for him, as McMahon threw a couple against Maryland last week.

“I thought Kyle played very well, but made some mistakes obviously,” said EMU head coach Jeff Genyk according to macreportonline.com. “It’s just a matter of having a young quarterback focus on executing one play at a time.”

Overall the Rochester Hills, Mich. native is 45-for-71 for 574-yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions this season. McMahon is also EMU’s third leading rusher, with 106-yards on the ground.

“We are really impressed with him. Offensively they can move the ball, and that’s a concern,” said NIU head coach Jerry Kill. “He’s athletic, he can throw deep, he’s got a gun – a very, very, very good player. I really like him.”

So what is NIU to do with a quarterback that has a 132.14 passing efficiency, but only three starts in his career – bring the pressure.

“The more pressure we can put on this youngster the better. I don’t think there’s any question about that,” Kill said. “I think that’s the key to any guy who throws the ball well, is the more pressure you get him out of the comfort zone you’ve got a better chance to defend him.”