Here Are Nick's Picks For The Bowl Games From The Aquarium

CLEARWATER, FL — You might as well crumple up those spreadsheets and lob them into the nearest trash can.

You won't need them for the 2021 New Year's bowl games because rescued dolphin Nicholas already has you covered.

Nicholas, a resident of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, is famous for his comical and usually on-target predictions. Since 2017, Nicholas has predicted the winners of 10 out of 17 games.

In choosing the winners for the Outback Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl games, Nicholas' animal care specialist presented him with a choice of laminated papers bearing the team logos. Nicholas selected the winner by touching the sheet with his rostrum (that's dolphin for nose).

According to Nicholas:

• Mississippi will defeat Indiana in the Outback Bowl
• Ohio will tromp Clemson in the Sugar Bowl
• And Notre Dame will fall to Alabama in the Rose Bowl.

The 2021 Rose Bowl is scheduled on New Year's Day with kickoff at 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. This will be the first time the bowl has been played outside Pasadena, California, since 1942.

The Sugar Bowl will take place Jan. 1 at 8 p.m. EST at the Mercedes Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

And the Outback Bowl will be played Jan. 2 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa with kickoff at 12:30 p.m. EST on ABC.

Nicholas is a rescued bottlenose dolphin that was found stranded with severe sunburns. He was orphaned and unable to learn necessary survival skills as a calf, so he became a permanent resident at Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

Making unbelievable sports predictions is just one of Nick’s many talents he has demonstrated as part of his animal enrichment exercises.