Pat Fitzgerald is a genius

Earlier this year, Pat Fitzgerald tried to triple-ice Western Illinois's kicker with three straight timeouts. This was, of course, a really, really annoying idea, since nobody likes three straight timeouts, and because icing the kicker has been proven to not actually work.

However, since Western Illinois has an FCS kicker who was kicking the ball 40-some-odd yards into the wind, the kick was blocked, proving Fitz's genius.

Now lets fast-forward a few months.

Michigan is threatening to score the first points of a truly awful football game with a 41-yard field goal after Fitz, for some reason, decided to decline a penalty that could have made it a 46-yarder. But Fitz had a trick in his back pocket. He didn't need those five yards. He had ... ICING.

Lol Fitz is legit gonna try to triple ice the kicker again.

— InsideNU (@insidenu) November 8, 2014

After the second icing we all thought a third one was coming. Michigan did, too, as the Wolverines had watched the tape. But on this afternoon, the third whistle never came. The Wolverines scrambled to snap the ball, and what do you know ...

AND THEY BLOCKED IT AGAIN MULTIPLE ICING WORKED SCREW YOU STATS GUYS

— InsideNU (@insidenu) November 8, 2014

But it wasn't just the icing. Michigan EXPECTED a third icing, and thus was left scrambling to kick the field goal.

FITZ IS A GENIUS. MICHIGAN THOUGHT A THIRD TIMEOUT WAS COMING SO THEY WEREN’T READY. GENIUS

— Henry Bushnell (@HenryBushnell) November 8, 2014

@mgoblog @AceAnbender I'm only counting 9 players for Mich. Is someone missing? pic.twitter.com/HrTquPDGeE

— ohnosamzilla (@ohnosamzilla) November 8, 2014

So back off statz bros. It's Fitz's world. We're all just living in it.