IOWA BONEHEAD BBQ

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

Power ranking

#2076

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1535

peak 1538 · rated over 10 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2016-04-23

latest 2018-06-01

Best ToY finish

#789

Master 2016

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

3 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 10 contests

Avg finish

top 49%

overall standings

Best overall

691.3484 / 720

Master · State Center Rose Festival KCBS BBQ Competition (Judges Full)

Perfect 180s

Current form

664.35 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 665.38 (-1.03)

Walk rate

50%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.1428

Pork · State Center Rose Festival KCBS BBQ Competition (Judges Full)

Consistency

±13.42

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 168.78 · weakest Pork Ribs (163.05)

Road miles

1,030

mi across 10 mapped stops · furthest 167 mi

Schedule strength

75%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1595)

Master avg

665.38 / 720

10 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (8 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

691.3484 career-best overall

96.0% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 691.3484 at State Center Rose Festival KCBS BBQ Competition (Judges Full) — 96.0% of a perfect 720.

Master
2016-06-17

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

AGAINST THE GRAIN BBQ has finished one call ahead of IOWA BONEHEAD BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

6–1 behind in the head-to-head

LUCKY'S Q ahead in 86% of their meetings

LUCKY'S Q has come out ahead in 6 of their 7 shared contests.

The weak link

−5.7 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.73 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 20% of the time against 30%.

Pork Ribs avg 163.05
Chicken avg 168.78
2 calls in 10 entries

A strong matchup

5–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of WOODWARD BARBEQUE in 5 of their 5 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

5 of 7 shared chicken entries lost

LUCKY'S Q ahead 71% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, LUCKY'S Q has out-cooked them in 5 of 7 shared chicken entries.

A June team

Top 40% average finish in June

Something about June: average finish in the top 40% across 3 contests, versus top 49% the rest of the year.

3 June contests
top 49% the rest of the year

The metronome

±1.86% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.86% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 92.4% of a perfect score
10 contests

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.

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

TACKLE THE TABLE BBQ

#2072 of the rated field

1535 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 45%
Peak: 1550

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2016-10-14

⚔ Head-to-head

KC AND THE SMOKESHACK BAND

#2078 of the rated field

1535 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 33%
Peak: 1542

No shared contest yet.

Level with IOWA BONEHEAD BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2016-08-12

⚔ Head-to-head

LUSCIOUS LOINS

#2075 of the rated field

1535 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1539

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2025-07-11

⚔ Head-to-head

Big D's Q

#2071 of the rated field

1535 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 29%
Peak: 1547

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 7 years after IOWA BONEHEAD BBQ did, first appearing in 2023.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2025-07-25

⚔ Head-to-head

Moe Cason Barbeque

#2073 of the rated field

1535 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1535

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2019-10-25

⚔ Head-to-head

Smoke a Fatty BBQ Nashville

#2083 of the rated field

1535 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 21
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 10%
Peak: 1535

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 15 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 15 contests
last seen 2026-06-12

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
LUCKY'S Q	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
SMOKEHOUSE 72	6	3	3	50%	⚔ compare
SHIGGIN & GRINNIN	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
DRY 2 DA BONE	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
SMOKERS PURGATORY	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
WOODWARD BARBEQUE	5	5	0	100%	⚔ compare
WHEN PIGS DIE	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN' LEFTY'S BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
DIG-IN COOKERS	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
OVERSIZE LOAD BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
PORKY BUTTS BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
SPITFIRE	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	10	3	1	176.0000	159.3712	168.78	top 40%
Pork Ribs	10	2	0	174.2628	154.2172	163.05	top 57%
Pork	10	3	1	177.1428	155.9428	165.46	top 52%
Brisket	10	4	1	176.0000	160.5144	168.09	top 39%

“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
IA	6	top 42%
NE	2	top 54%
MN	1	top 64%
SD	1	top 65%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 41%
Medium (20–39)	5	top 42%
Large (40+)	4	top 60%

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

On the trail 2.1 yrs 2016-04-23 → 2018-06-01

Busiest season 2016 5 contests

Contests a season 3.3 across 3 seasons in the data

Cooks most in IA 6 of 10 contests · 4 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 10 0 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 10 entries · 0 wins · 3 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 168.78 · weakest Pork Ribs (163.05)

Walk rate 50% a top-10 call in 5 of 10 contests

Overall top-10 rate 20% 2 of 10 contests

Master average 665.38 out of 720 · 10 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 240 199–197 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 1,030 10 mapped stops · furthest 167 mi

Schedule strength 1595 average field rating faced — tougher than 75% of rated contests

Power rating 1535 peak 1538 · #2076 of 6,413 rated

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

2016
Apr 23 First tracked contest Central Iowa Expo BBQ (Day 2) (Judges Full)
Apr 23 First call Central Iowa Expo BBQ (Day 2) (Judges Full)
Apr 23 First overall past 90% of a perfect score677.6800 Central Iowa Expo BBQ (Day 2) (Judges Full)
Jun 17 First overall top-10 State Center Rose Festival KCBS BBQ Competition (Judges Full)
Jun 17 Career-best overall score691.3484 State Center Rose Festival KCBS BBQ Competition (Judges Full)
Jun 17 Career-best single call (Pork)177.1428 State Center Rose Festival KCBS BBQ Competition (Judges Full)
2017
Sep 22 Peak power rating (1538) Tri City BBQ Fest
2018
Jun 1 10th tracked contest Smokin In Steele
Jun 1 Most recent contest Smokin In Steele

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15.9	State Center Rose Festival KCBS BBQ Competition (Judges Full)	2016-06-17
+11.9	Central Iowa Expo BBQ (Day 2) (Judges Full)	2016-04-23
+7.1	Tri City BBQ Fest	2017-09-22
+5.8	Rose Festival KCBS BBQ Competition	2017-06-16
+4.9	24th Annual State BBQ Championship of Nebraska	2016-08-05

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-3	Up in Smoke BBQ Bash	2016-07-22
-2.9	Smokin In Steele	2018-06-01
-2.8	Central Iowa Expo BBQ & Cruise (DAY 2)	2017-04-29
-2.4	Ribs, Rods and Rock'n Roll	2016-09-09

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)
2018	1	0	0%	top 64%	90.8%	90.8%
2017	4	1	75%	top 51%	94.3%	92.6%
2016	5	1	40%	top 44%	96%	92.6%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2018-06-01	Smokin In Steele Owatonna, MN	29 / 45 (653.5536)	35 (159.3712)	17 (165.7028)	25 (163.3712)	20 (165.1084)
2017-09-22	Tri City BBQ Fest Denison, IA	12 / 37 (678.8572)	8 (173.7028)	29 (161.1544)	8 (171.4400)	8 (172.5600)
2017-08-04	Omaha Steaks Nebraska BBQ Championship Day -1 Omaha, NE	34 / 54 (657.5432)	15 (170.2628)	30 (165.0972)	39 (161.6688)	36 (160.5144)
2017-06-16	Rose Festival KCBS BBQ Competition State Center, IA	7 / 17 (671.8856)	8 (167.3828)	5 (167.4172)	8 (167.4056)	5 (169.6800)
2017-04-29	Central Iowa Expo BBQ & Cruise (DAY 2) Boone, IA	24 / 35 (659.8860)	15 (170.8344)	32 (154.2516)	33 (158.8000)	3 (176.0000)
2016-09-09	Ribs, Rods and Rock'n Roll Vermillion, SD	22 / 34 (644.4456)	14 (166.2744)	25 (157.0856)	26 (160.5372)	21 (160.5484)
2016-08-05	24th Annual State BBQ Championship of Nebraska Omaha, NE	32 / 70 (657.5540)	36 (163.9656)	22 (166.2400)	51 (155.9428)	13 (171.4056)
2016-07-22	Up in Smoke BBQ Bash Mason City, IA	32 / 47 (661.0056)	15 (172.0000)	46 (154.2172)	12 (171.4172)	31 (163.3712)
2016-06-17	State Center Rose Festival KCBS BBQ Competition (Judges Full) State Center, IA	4 / 31 (691.3484)	3 (176.0000)	19 (165.0856)	2 (177.1428)	8 (173.1200)
2016-04-23	Central Iowa Expo BBQ (Day 2) (Judges Full) Boone, IA	11 / 36 (677.6800)	18 (168.0116)	4 (174.2628)	19 (166.8572)	16 (168.5484)

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	#2173 (65 pts)	#1988 (110 pts)	#2304 (60 pts)	#2260 (60 pts)	#1285 (235 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#789 (470 pts)	#785 (500 pts)	#891 (430 pts)	#845 (465 pts)	#827 (455 pts)