"The way Jerricho Cotchery sees it, he owes Philip Rivers one.

Cotchery, the Jets receiver, and Rivers, the Chargers quarterback, starred together at North Carolina State and also were high school rivals growing up in Alabama.

The two meet again on Sunday in San Diego when the Jets play the Chargers in the AFC divisional playoff game.

"It is a little weird, because we're very familiar with each other and the chemistry we had at N.C. State was unbelievable," Cotchery said yesterday. "I still owe him from high school, though, because he knocked me out in the second round of the playoffs my senior year, and that still hurts. I still remember that and I'm sure he still remembers that as well. I'm trying to get some payback for that.""