JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -Byron Leftwich and Chad Pennington will talk several times this week. They'll discuss family, friends, other Mid-Atlantic Conference quarterbacks in the NFL, and dissect Marshall's loss to Central Florida.

They'll also chat about their upcoming matchup.

``I'll try to steal all the information I can from him, and he'll try to steal all the information he can from me,'' Leftwich said.

The close friends and former college teammates will be on opposite sidelines for the third time in four years Sunday when the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2) host the New York Jets (2-2).

``It's actually weird,'' Pennington said. ``It's been weird for us to play against each other because we were teammates, and so when you see each other on the other side, you get a weird feeling, like I'm playing against this guy instead of playing with this guy. So it's a little bit different.''

Pennington won the first meeting, capping a 94-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss with 26 seconds remaining to give the Jets a 13-10 win in 2003. Leftwich evened the series last year, hooking up with Jimmy Smith for a 36-yard touchdown pass in overtime that gave the Jaguars a 26-20 victory.

There could be even more points this time around. The Jets have allowed 91 points in four games, more than every AFC team except Houston and Tennessee.

The Jags, meanwhile, gave up 481 yards and 36 points at Washington last week. Although Jacksonville hopes to show that performance was a fluke, the defense will be without Pro Bowl tackle Marcus Stroud (ankle/groin) and end Marcellus Wiley (groin).

Lighting up the scoreboard would be nothing new for Leftwich and Pennington. They helped put Marshall on the college football map while directing the most prolific offenses in school history.

Pennington was a junior when Leftwich arrived on campus in summer 1998. Despite being from vastly different background - Pennington grew up in Tennessee; Leftwich was born and raised in Washington, D.C. - they hit it off immediately. Pennington took the freshman under his wing and even bought Leftwich his first college meal - at McDonald's.

``I guess I still owe him a meal,'' Leftwich said.

Leftwich might owe him much more.

Pennington set nearly every passing record at Marshall. He led the Thundering Herd to a 13-0 record his senior season and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Leftwich just sat back, listened and learned.

``If he wasn't there, I don't know if I would be here right now,'' Leftwich said. ``Maybe I wouldn't know how to prepare. Maybe I wouldn't know the do's and the don'ts. Maybe I wouldn't know how to watch film. Maybe I would have never learned those things if he's not there to guide me early on.''

Pennington always knew Leftwich would be special. He realized that a few days after Leftwich arrived on campus. Leftwich bet Pennington that he could stand flat-footed at the 50-yard line and throw a football through the goal posts,

Pennington's response? ``No way.''

Leftwich cleared the crossbar with plenty of room to spare.

``He's ultracompetitive,'' Pennington said. ``He loves to compete, and any time he steps out on the field, he doesn't believe anybody can touch him. That's a great attitude to have as a quarterback.

``You need to feel like you're invincible and you can make any throw and every throw, and he can. He can do it. You just see when he plays the game. He loves being out there, he loves taking on the challenges and he's confident in his abilities and his ability to lead, and it shows.''

Leftwich took the starting job at Marshall in 2000 and spent the next three seasons chasing Pennington in the record books.

``I remember being in college and he would tell me, 'You will break every record that I have here,''' Leftwich said.

Leftwich only got one of them: career completion percentage (65.1).

Pennington still owns career records for completions (1,026), attempts (1,619), yards (13,143) and touchdown passes (115). ``He cheated because he had Randy (Moss) for two years,'' Leftwich said. ``Randy was giving him 26 touchdowns a year.''

Leftwich had one more jab for his longtime friend and one-time mentor.

Asked who had the better arm, Leftwich replied, ``Come on, now.''

Then he paused and added, ``I'm faster, too.''

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