HERM'S HOGS

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#5276

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1456

peak 1456 · rated over 14 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-05-31

latest 2018-05-18

Best ToY finish

#1112

Master 2017

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 14 contests

Avg finish

top 70%

overall standings

Best overall

654.8116 / 720

Master · *Que by the Sea

Perfect 180s

Current form

635.76 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 620.38 (+15.38)

Walk rate

29%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

174.8456

Chicken · Que for the Troops

Consistency

±22.60

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 156.25 · weakest Brisket (153.00)

Road miles

884

mi across 14 mapped stops · furthest 79 mi

Schedule strength

32%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1543)

Master avg

620.38 / 720

14 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (6 found in this team's record)

Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

Smokin' Addiction has finished one call ahead of HERM'S HOGS 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

12–0 behind in the head-to-head

Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit ahead in 100% of their meetings

Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit has come out ahead in 12 of their 12 shared contests.

A strong matchup

8–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 80% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Fire Ants BBQ in 8 of their 10 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

9 of 12 shared chicken entries lost

Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit ahead 75% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit has out-cooked them in 9 of 12 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

WE RIB U LONG TIME has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A September team

Top 59% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 59% across 4 contests, versus top 70% the rest of the year.

4 September contests
top 70% the rest of the year

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.

118 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

TRIBAL SMOKERS

#5256 of the rated field

1456 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1519

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to HERM'S HOGS)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team HERM'S HOGS has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2019-10-18

⚔ Head-to-head

WE RIB U LONG TIME

#5271 of the rated field

1456 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 25
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1505

6–4 in 10 shared contests (60% to HERM'S HOGS)

They've been 1505 at their best, 49 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 25 contests
last seen 2019-07-12

⚔ Head-to-head

DO IT GENTLY BBQ

#5294 of the rated field

1455 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 7%
Peak: 1455

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 14 contests to 14, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 14 contests
last seen 2026-07-18

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKIN CROATIANS

#5274 of the rated field

1456 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1456

No shared contest yet.

15 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 13% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 15 contests
last seen 2016-06-03

⚔ Head-to-head

Big Boy BBQ

#5279 of the rated field

1456 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 8%
Peak: 1456

No shared contest yet.

Level with HERM'S HOGS on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 13 contests
last seen 2023-10-13

⚔ Head-to-head

Nutty Cocks BBQ

#5289 of the rated field

1455 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1455

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 8 years after HERM'S HOGS did, first appearing in 2021.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2026-06-26

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit	12	0	12	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN' TEX BBQ	11	3	8	27%	⚔ compare
BRISKET BURNERS	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
SMOKOPOLIS BBQ	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
Dr. Pearl's Medicinal Smoke BBQ Team	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
Fire Ants BBQ	10	8	2	80%	⚔ compare
WE RIB U LONG TIME	10	6	4	60%	⚔ compare
WEEKEND SMOKERS	10	2	8	20%	⚔ compare
LO' -N- SLO' BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
BURNT SIDE DOWN	9	7	2	78%	⚔ compare
MOON RIVER BARBEQUE	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
QUEGASM	9	2	7	22%	⚔ compare
DANTE'S INFERNO	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
PIG PEN BBQ	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
HAWG NATION BBQ	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	14	2	1	174.8456	131.4284	156.25	top 62%
Pork Ribs	14	1	0	166.8572	137.7144	155.90	top 59%
Pork	14	0	0	163.4172	146.2284	155.23	top 64%
Brisket	14	1	0	166.8344	139.3256	153.00	top 62%

“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.

By state / province

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
PA	10	0	top 75%
NJ	4	0	top 59%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	2	0	top 81%
Large (40+)	12	0	top 68%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
*Que by the Sea	4	17	top 59%	2017-09-22
Que for the Troops	3	31	top 75%	2017-06-02
Twin Valley Fire And Smoke	2	42	top 89%	2018-05-18

The story so far (14 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 5 yrs 2013-05-31 → 2018-05-18

Busiest season 2017 4 contests

Contests a season 2.3 across 6 seasons in the data

Cooks most in PA 10 of 14 contests · 2 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 8 3 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 14 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 156.25 · weakest Brisket (153.00)

Walk rate 29% a top-10 call in 4 of 14 contests

Overall top-10 rate 0% 0 of 14 contests

Master average 620.38 out of 720 · 14 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 251 215–464 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 884 14 mapped stops · furthest 79 mi

Schedule strength 1543 average field rating faced — tougher than 32% of rated contests

Power rating 1456 peak 1456 · #5276 of 6,413 rated

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

2013
May 31 First tracked contest Que for the Troops
May 31 Peak power rating (1489) Que for the Troops
2014
Sep 20 First call Que by the Sea
2017
May 19 10th tracked contest Twin Valley Fire and Smoke
Jun 2 Career-best single call (Chicken)174.8456 Que for the Troops
Sep 22 First overall past 90% of a perfect score654.8116 *Que by the Sea
Sep 22 Career-best overall score654.8116 *Que by the Sea
2018
May 18 Most recent contest Twin Valley Fire And Smoke

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+7.6	*Que by the Sea	2017-09-22
+4.5	Que for the Troops	2016-06-03
+4	Que for the Troops	2017-06-02
+2.2	Smoke in the Valley BBQ Competition & Festival	2015-05-08
+0.8	Que by the Sea	2014-09-20

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.5	Que for the Troops	2013-05-31
-10.3	Que for the Troops	2014-06-06
-8.2	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke	2017-05-19
-7.7	Twin Valley Fire And Smoke	2018-05-18
-7	Que for the Troops	2015-06-05

Category scores over time

Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Team of the Year rank by season

Season by season

Season	Contests	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2018	1	0%	top 89%	85.6%	85.6%
2017	4	75%	top 65%	90.9%	89%
2016	1	0%	top 46%	88.6%	88.6%
2015	4	0%	top 73%	88.3%	86.8%
2014	2	50%	top 72%	85.9%	83.8%
2013	2	0%	top 75%	82.6%	80.9%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2018-05-18	Twin Valley Fire And Smoke Morgantown, PA	42 / 47 (616.4000)	40 (154.7884)	45 (147.9200)	25 (163.4172)	40 (150.2744)
2017-09-22	*Que by the Sea Seaside Heights, NJ	17 / 43 (654.8116)	17 (166.2972)	10 (166.8572)	16 (161.6800)	19 (159.9772)
2017-08-04	*Pit at the Park Macungie, PA	27 / 32 (637.5084)	9 (170.2744)	11 (166.8228)	20 (161.0856)	32 (139.3256)
2017-06-02	Que for the Troops Levittown, PA	31 / 63 (644.5256)	2 (174.8456)	39 (158.3088)	56 (149.0856)	23 (162.2856)
2017-05-19	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke Morgantown, PA	47 / 53 (625.5544)	25 (167.3712)	40 (158.8116)	46 (149.6800)	48 (149.6916)
2016-06-03	Que for the Troops Levittown, PA	31 / 67 (637.5772)	14 (167.3828)	25 (163.3944)	29 (159.4400)	53 (147.3600)
2015-09-19	Que by the Sea Seaside Heights, NJ	32 / 41 (611.3024)	18 (160.5256)	28 (153.6912)	38 (146.2284)	24 (150.8572)
2015-08-21	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Harrisburg, PA	23 / 30 (620.4568)	28 (154.7884)	24 (152.5600)	13 (159.4284)	21 (153.6800)
2015-06-05	Que for the Troops Levittown, PA	44 / 54 (630.7772)	47 (155.9772)	42 (155.4172)	38 (159.4172)	33 (159.9656)
2015-05-08	Smoke in the Valley BBQ Competition & Festival Green Lane, PA	31 / 57 (635.8848)	30 (161.6912)	27 (157.7028)	31 (156.5368)	19 (159.9540)
2014-09-20	Que by the Sea Seaside Heights, NJ	27 / 48 (618.6856)	40 (148.5372)	25 (156.0000)	45 (147.3140)	7 (166.8344)
2014-06-06	Que for the Troops Levittown, PA	57 / 65 (587.3600)	64 (135.4056)	32 (154.8916)	54 (150.8000)	44 (146.2628)
2013-09-21	Que by the Sea Seaside Heights, NJ	31 / 49 (594.7544)	44 (138.2172)	19 (152.5372)	16 (154.8000)	26 (149.2000)
2013-05-31	Que for the Troops Levittown, PA	40 / 46 (569.7136)	46 (131.4284)	42 (137.7144)	25 (154.2852)	32 (146.2856)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)

Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2018 ↗	Master	#1954 (60 pts)	#2012 (60 pts)	#1996 (60 pts)	#2030 (60 pts)	#1990 (60 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1112 (277 pts)	#719 (562 pts)	#983 (382 pts)	#1125 (307 pts)	#1154 (277 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#2274 (60 pts)	#2029 (115 pts)	#2349 (60 pts)	#2326 (60 pts)	#2345 (60 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1154 (245 pts)	#1150 (270 pts)	#1266 (240 pts)	#1118 (295 pts)	#1077 (290 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#1657 (148 pts)	#1731 (148 pts)	#1711 (148 pts)	#1728 (148 pts)	#1210 (253 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#1564 (145 pts)	#1617 (145 pts)	#1462 (175 pts)	#1369 (190 pts)	#1586 (145 pts)