Greetings to you, the readers of The Alpena News. Your friendly neighborhood Geek is back with another round of college football bowl picks.

That’s right, the News’ annual Beat The Geek contest has returned for another year and the Geek is more determined than ever to prove once again who Northeast Michigan’s best bowl prognosticator is. The Geek isn’t messing around this year. Last year’s 12-8 record was respectable, but far from great by the Geek’s lofty standards. Things will be different this time around as the Geek has submitted a list of pick that’s sure to run the table.

You think you can beat me? Well do you? All you have to do to prove it is to fill out an entry form and return it to The News by Dec. 24. All mailed entries must be postmarked by Dec. 24.

As a reminder, the final spot on the form has spots for players to fill in the two teams they think will make the College Football Playoff championship game from the two semifinals, the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl.

The two semifinals this year are Ohio State vs. Clemson and Oklahoma vs. LSU. Please be advised if the final spot is filled in incorrectly (for example with two teams that aren’t in the semifinals) or left blank, it will be marked wrong. Please also be sure to CIRCLE your winner for the championship game.

The Geek is taking LSU to beat Ohio State in the championship game.

The form will also be posted online at thealpenanews.com.

Think you can win? Don’t be afraid to fill out a form. The tiebreaker for the contest as always is the total number of points you think will be scored in the national championship game. Believe it or not, the tiebreaker has come into play numerous times. It did last year too after Tom Daoust beat Lisa Dziesinski by three points after they both guessed 16 out of 20 games correctly.

Several area businesses have generously donated $25 gift certificates to the contest–Big Mike’s Pizza, Arbys of Alpena, Cliff Anschuetz Chevrolet and Thunder Bay River Restaurant.

Good luck to all players (you’re going to need it to beat me!)