LITTLE BOB'S BBQ

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

Power ranking

#5503

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1450

peak 1505 · rated over 27 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-08-16

latest 2017-07-21

Best ToY finish

#575

Master 2016

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 27 contests

Avg finish

top 67%

overall standings

Best overall

679.3484 / 720

Master · Ohio Veterans Barbecue Cook-Off

Perfect 180s

Current form

646.66 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 649.82 (-3.16)

Walk rate

30%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

175.4400

Pork Ribs · Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival

Consistency

±15.76

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 164.48 · weakest Brisket (158.40)

Road miles

2,924

mi across 27 mapped stops · furthest 391 mi

Schedule strength

48%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1562)

Master avg

649.82 / 720

27 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (12 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.

High-water mark

679.3484 career-best overall

94.4% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 679.3484 at Ohio Veterans Barbecue Cook-Off — 94.4% of a perfect 720.

Master
2016-07-08

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

SMOKE-N-PEPPERS has finished one call ahead of LITTLE BOB'S BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2014 their best year

2014 was the year it came together: 5 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 57%.

5 contests
0 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 57%

A tough matchup

18–1 behind in the head-to-head

BIG JT'S SMOKIN BBQ ahead in 95% of their meetings

BIG JT'S SMOKIN BBQ has come out ahead in 18 of their 19 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.1 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.08 points below their pork, and turns into a call 4% of the time against 11%.

Brisket avg 158.40
Pork avg 164.48
1 calls in 27 entries

A strong matchup

4–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of SMOKE DYNASTY in 4 of their 4 shared contests.

Pork nemesis

17 of 19 shared pork entries lost

BIG JT'S SMOKIN BBQ ahead 89% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, BIG JT'S SMOKIN BBQ has out-cooked them in 17 of 19 shared pork entries.

Going the wrong way

-37 rating points in a year

The rating has slipped 37 points across 8 contests since 2016-09-02 — from 1487 down to 1450.

8 contests since 2016-09-02
now 1450

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

FARMER'S RETREAT SMOKIN BARBEQUE has landed one call behind them 2 times.

An August team

Top 57% average finish in August

Something about August: average finish in the top 57% across 3 contests, versus top 67% the rest of the year.

3 August contests
top 67% the rest of the year

The metronome

±2.19% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.19% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 90.3% of a perfect score
27 contests

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked *Smoke on the Square: In memory of David Harness every year from 2014 to 2017 — the contest they never miss.

4 visits in all
best finish 17th

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.

Roni's Ribs

#5495 of the rated field

1450 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1450

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to LITTLE BOB'S BBQ)

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

rated over 13 contests
last seen 2024-09-13

⚔ Head-to-head

LEFLER'S PIT CREW

#5524 of the rated field

1450 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1450

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to LITTLE BOB'S BBQ)

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2018-09-07

⚔ Head-to-head

ROAD HOG WILLY

#5527 of the rated field

1450 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1450

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to LITTLE BOB'S BBQ)

Fewer contests behind them than LITTLE BOB'S BBQ has cooked, 6 to 27, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 6 contests
last seen 2016-10-14

⚔ Head-to-head

H-TOWN FAMILY QUE

#5499 of the rated field

1450 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1450

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to LITTLE BOB'S BBQ)

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.

rated over 5 contests
last seen 2015-03-13

⚔ Head-to-head

PIG APPROVED BBQ

#5516 of the rated field

1450 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 32
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1450

No shared contest yet.

32 contests and no Grand Championship yet.

rated over 32 contests
last seen 2017-09-15

⚔ Head-to-head

Smokesdidier bbq

#5520 of the rated field

1450 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 22
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 14%
Peak: 1450

No shared contest yet.

Level with LITTLE BOB'S BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 22 contests
last seen 2026-08-07

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
BIG JT'S SMOKIN BBQ	19	1	18	5%	⚔ compare
ACME BBQ	17	2	15	12%	⚔ compare
SQUEALERS AWARD WINNING BARBEQUE	17	1	16	6%	⚔ compare
HUG HOGS	17	1	16	6%	⚔ compare
WeQ4U	17	1	16	6%	⚔ compare
Extra Mile BBQ	15	2	13	13%	⚔ compare
GREY STREET BBQ	15	2	13	13%	⚔ compare
YELLOW RIVER BBQ	15	1	14	7%	⚔ compare
THUNDER HOG BBQ	15	0	15	0%	⚔ compare
BLUE CHIP BBQ	14	1	13	7%	⚔ compare
ZZ-QUE	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
FARMER'S RETREAT SMOKIN BARBEQUE	12	3	9	25%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN' 4-PLAY BBQ	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
HISTORIC BBQ	12	0	12	0%	⚔ compare
Pappy Q	10	2	8	20%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	27	2	0	173.1544	150.7884	162.68	top 67%
Pork Ribs	27	4	2	175.4400	153.6456	164.26	top 56%
Pork	27	3	0	173.1200	137.6232	164.48	top 56%
Brisket	27	1	0	173.1428	144.5372	158.40	top 67%

“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	Avg finish
IN	19	top 67%
OH	4	top 51%
KY	3	top 83%
GA	1	top 73%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 67%
Medium (20–39)	15	top 71%
Large (40+)	11	top 60%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
*Smoke on the Square: In memory of David Harness	4	17	top 66%	2017-06-16
Bands & BBQ at the Point	2	20	top 80%	2016-09-16
Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival	2	23	top 68%	2015-08-21
Wine, Brew & Bar-B-Que Too!	2	32	top 78%	2015-07-17

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

On the trail 3.9 yrs 2013-08-16 → 2017-07-21

Busiest season 2016 9 contests

Contests a season 5.4 across 5 seasons in the data

Cooks most in IN 19 of 27 contests · 4 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 21 4 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 27 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 164.48 · weakest Brisket (158.40)

Walk rate 30% a top-10 call in 8 of 27 contests

Overall top-10 rate 4% 1 of 27 contests

Master average 649.82 out of 720 · 27 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 400 367–646 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 2,924 27 mapped stops · furthest 391 mi

Schedule strength 1562 average field rating faced — tougher than 48% of rated contests

Power rating 1450 peak 1505 · #5503 of 6,413 rated

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

2013
Aug 16 First tracked contest Madison Ribberfest: Barbeque & Blues
Aug 16 First overall past 90% of a perfect score657.0060 Madison Ribberfest: Barbeque & Blues
Aug 16 Peak power rating (1505) Madison Ribberfest: Barbeque & Blues
2014
Jun 27 First call Smoke on the Square: In Memory of David Harness
Aug 15 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)175.4400 Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival
2015
Jul 10 10th tracked contest 9th Ohio Veterans BBQ Cookoff
2016
Apr 22 First overall top-10 CCS Fest: CCS Spring Festival & BBQ Competition
Jul 8 Career-best overall score679.3484 Ohio Veterans Barbecue Cook-Off
2017
Jun 16 25th tracked contest *Smoke on the Square: In memory of David Harness
Jul 21 Most recent contest Smoke on the Square

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15.3	CCS Fest: CCS Spring Festival & BBQ Competition	2016-04-22
+9.6	Ohio Veterans Barbecue Cook-Off	2016-07-08
+5.7	Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival	2014-08-15
+5.1	Madison Ribberfest: Barbeque & Blues	2013-08-16
+2.2	8th Annual Ohio Veterans BBQ Cookoff	2014-07-11

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.8	Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival	2015-08-21
-10.4	Wine, Brew & Bar-B-Que Too!	2015-07-17
-9.1	Bands & BBQ at the Point	2016-09-16
-8.3	Smoke on the Square	2017-07-21
-7.5	Smoke on the Square: In Memory of David Harness	2014-06-27

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	Top-10s	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2017	4	0	0%	top 79%	91%	89.2%
2016	9	1	33%	top 66%	94.4%	91%
2015	8	0	25%	top 71%	92.4%	89.6%
2014	5	0	60%	top 57%	92.3%	90.6%
2013	1	0	0%	top 37%	91.3%	91.3%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2017-07-21	Smoke on the Square Vernon, IN	24 / 25 (649.6796)	23 (158.8684)	23 (156.5600)	11 (171.9656)	18 (162.2856)
2017-07-07	*Ohio Veterans Barbecue Cook-Off Kettering, OH	29 / 41 (642.7888)	30 (160.5372)	16 (168.0344)	24 (160.5372)	34 (153.6800)
2017-06-16	*Smoke on the Square: In memory of David Harness Franklin, IN	17 / 25 (655.3256)	21 (160.5256)	16 (164.5600)	16 (163.3828)	13 (166.8572)
2017-04-07	*CCS Fest Indianapolis, IN	37 / 45 (619.8740)	41 (150.7884)	23 (162.8456)	29 (161.1428)	39 (145.0972)
2016-11-04	Roarin' Lions Smokin' BBQ (GBC Qualifier) Winder, GA	24 / 33 (665.6344)	17 (169.1200)	21 (169.1316)	22 (168.0000)	29 (159.3828)
2016-10-14	Big Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cookoff Munfordville, KY	30 / 34 (655.2108)	30 (163.9312)	29 (159.9540)	22 (167.3828)	29 (163.9428)
2016-09-16	Bands & BBQ at the Point Carrollton, KY	28 / 31 (648.4680)	28 (163.4056)	16 (168.5600)	24 (161.6912)	28 (154.8112)
2016-09-02	Homecoming 2016 Vernon, IN	18 / 26 (633.0168)	20 (158.8000)	23 (154.8228)	14 (166.8456)	17 (152.5484)
2016-07-08	Ohio Veterans Barbecue Cook-Off Kettering, OH	11 / 34 (679.3484)	16 (169.1200)	7 (173.7372)	9 (172.5484)	21 (163.9428)
2016-06-24	Smoke on the Square: In memory of David Harness Franklin, IN	21 / 31 (648.4116)	20 (165.6684)	25 (160.5488)	28 (157.0744)	15 (165.1200)
2016-05-20	Smokin' for Garrett Boonville, IN	24 / 35 (650.2972)	23 (163.4400)	10 (167.9772)	22 (165.1772)	29 (153.7028)
2016-05-13	Rockin BBQ Warsaw, IN	24 / 28 (642.7428)	19 (164.5716)	16 (166.2516)	23 (159.9656)	26 (151.9540)
2016-04-22	CCS Fest: CCS Spring Festival & BBQ Competition Indianapolis, IN	8 / 49 (674.2632)	4 (173.1544)	26 (163.3944)	13 (170.2972)	14 (167.4172)
2015-09-11	Bands & BBQ at the Point Carrollton, KY	20 / 29 (657.0172)	20 (163.9428)	25 (159.3944)	6 (173.1200)	19 (160.5600)
2015-09-04	Homecoming 2015 BBQ Cookoff Vernon, IN	12 / 18 (663.3712)	6 (169.7028)	14 (164.5600)	17 (155.9656)	4 (173.1428)
2015-08-21	Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival Madison, IN	62 / 64 (599.1772)	43 (163.3712)	58 (153.6456)	64 (137.6232)	59 (144.5372)
2015-07-17	Wine, Brew & Bar-B-Que Too! New Palestine, IN	41 / 44 (642.1144)	32 (165.6912)	25 (167.4172)	37 (162.2516)	43 (146.7544)
2015-07-10	9th Ohio Veterans BBQ Cookoff Kettering, OH	20 / 39 (665.6000)	35 (161.1200)	16 (169.1084)	12 (170.8344)	17 (164.5372)
2015-06-26	Smoke on the Square: In Memory of David Harness Franklin, IN	18 / 34 (647.9544)	23 (156.5828)	17 (160.5372)	19 (165.6916)	17 (165.1428)
2015-06-12	Smokin' On The River Jeffersonville, IN	35 / 59 (651.3144)	27 (165.1084)	48 (154.2860)	19 (169.6916)	37 (162.2284)
2015-05-08	Rockin' BBQ for Riley Warsaw, IN	22 / 27 (636.4112)	21 (156.5372)	19 (162.2744)	12 (166.8112)	23 (150.7884)
2014-08-15	Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival Madison, IN	23 / 60 (664.4800)	53 (155.3712)	3 (175.4400)	24 (165.6800)	16 (167.9888)
2014-07-18	Wine, Brew & Bar-B-Que Too! New Palestine, IN	32 / 51 (649.6692)	43 (157.7032)	21 (166.8800)	7 (173.1200)	41 (151.9660)
2014-07-11	8th Annual Ohio Veterans BBQ Cookoff Kettering, OH	21 / 42 (653.6120)	28 (161.0972)	15 (166.2628)	11 (169.1432)	29 (157.1088)
2014-06-27	Smoke on the Square: In Memory of David Harness Franklin, IN	26 / 34 (650.7544)	13 (170.8456)	3 (173.7028)	27 (160.5600)	33 (145.6460)
2014-05-03	Smokin' On The Water Liberty, IN	24 / 43 (641.6116)	32 (158.2744)	21 (165.1200)	30 (162.8228)	25 (155.3944)
2013-08-16	Madison Ribberfest: Barbeque & Blues Madison, IN	22 / 60 (657.0060)	20 (165.1200)	32 (159.9660)	27 (161.6456)	14 (170.2744)

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
2017 ↗	Master	#1140 (265 pts)	#1251 (250 pts)	#1069 (330 pts)	#1051 (340 pts)	#1076 (315 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#575 (688 pts)	#519 (778 pts)	#552 (753 pts)	#584 (698 pts)	#641 (618 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#597 (613 pts)	#622 (618 pts)	#631 (618 pts)	#491 (793 pts)	#526 (718 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#879 (379 pts)	#890 (404 pts)	#506 (784 pts)	#727 (524 pts)	#879 (389 pts)