Ray McNulty: No dictionary needed to explain Rix's showing

Because he has heard it before.

And he knows he'll hear it again.

Was this the defining moment of your career at Florida State?

"As far as defining me," Rix said politely, "that's up to you (media) guys and the fans and, maybe, the coaches."

But that's as far as Rix would go.

Florida State's embattled quarterback preferred to let his latest performance speak for itself.

He completed 14 of 19 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns, the last coming with 55 seconds remaining to give the ninth-ranked Seminoles a 38-34 victory over No. 11 Florida on a chilly Saturday at The Swamp.

"Chris did his thing," Florida State coach Bobby Bowden would say afterward.

And what exactly was that?

Whatever it took.

He put together back-to-back touchdown drives when the Seminoles needed them most -- on their last two possessions.

With Florida leading 27-24, Rix engineered an eight-play, 80-yard drive in which he was 4 for 4 for 78 yards, then, on fourth-and-goal from the 1, plunged into the end zone to put the Seminoles ahead with 5:01 to play.

After his Florida counterpart, Chris Leak, answered with a 25-yard touchdown toss to tight end Ben Troupe, Rix got the ball again -- this time with only 2:50 remaining.

A 4-yard run, a dropped shotgun snap and an overthrown pass put the ball at the Florida State 24. It was fourth-and-14. Only 83 seconds were left on the clock.

"We were in a deep hole right there," Rix said. But Rix responded like a champion, drilling a 24-yard pass to Dominic Robinson, who somehow found an opening across the middle of the field.

The Seminoles were still alive.

On the next snap, Rix rolled to his right, away from a desperate Florida rush, buying just enough time to notice P.K. Sam sprinting past Gators safety Guss Scott.

"It was a take-off route to P.K., the same play I missed him on a couple of plays earlier," Rix said. "I saw him one-on-one with the defender and put it out there."

Sam made the catch. The Seminoles won the game. And Rix was a football hero.

He completed 6 of 7 passes for 154 yards on Florida State's final two drives to lead his team to its 10th victory of the season, its second in a row against Florida.

"Probably as clutch as I've ever been," Rix said.

Memorable, too.

But hardly perfect.

There was that dadgum, third-quarter fumble, which Florida's Keiwan Ratliff scooped up and returned 77 yards for a touchdown that put the Gators in front 24-17.

"That was a 10-point error," Bowden said. "We're driving and in field-goal range, and he lays the stinking thing on the ground."

Actually, the ball was knocked out of Rix's hands by Scott.

But the mistake came at the worst possible time -- after Florida had already scored the first 11 points of the second half.

"Man, I wish I could have that one back," Rix said.

It was far from the first time he had uttered those words.

Florida State fans have seen too many of Rix's interceptions and fumbles and bad decisions, all of which have offset his flashes of brilliance.

"I'll give y'all one, and I'll take three," Bowden said in describing Rix's afternoon. "As long as he keeps those odds, we'll keep him at quarterback."

Sometimes, Bowden gets frustrated, but he likes Rix.

He likes his athleticism. He likes his arm strength and passing touch. He also likes his toughness.

Rix didn't stay down after his costly fumble. He came out swinging.

"It was a fight out there," Rix said.

And Rix is, above all else, a fighter.

There's no better way to define him.