A tough matchup
4–0
behind in the head-to-head
Big Ten Bones ahead in 100% of their meetings
Big Ten Bones has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
Northern Lights Smoke
Northern Lights Smoke is a competition barbecue team with 5 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2021 and 2022. Their best overall finish is 14th of 33 at the Smokin in Steele (Master & Backyard Contest) (2022). They are ranked #3984 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1484
peak 1484 · rated over 5 contests
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
May 7, 2021
latest Sep 10, 2022 · 1.3 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 62%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
40%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±9.21
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 157.91 · weakest Chicken (157.00)
Road miles
247
across 5 mapped stops · furthest 67 mi
Schedule strength
25%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1534)
Purse competed for
$30K
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 2 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
314.92 / 360
5 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Northern Lights Smoke, each with one reason worth a look.
144 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,003 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1483
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,005 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1502
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2021.
⚔ Compare careers#3,961 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1504
Level with Northern Lights Smoke on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,996 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1483
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 3 years before Northern Lights Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,990 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1483
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 3 years before Northern Lights Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,980 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1484
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 4 years before Northern Lights Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 168 | 134.2744 | 157.00 | top 53% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 170.2628 | 141.0628 | 157.91 | top 50% |
“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 field size and state
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 65% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 52% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota in May (Backyard) | 2 | 22 | 0 | top 55% | May 13, 2022 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2022
3 contests
Contests a season
2.5
across 2 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MN
5 of 5 contests
Contests visited
4
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
168
finished ahead 90 times, behind 145
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20224 milestones
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)170.2628 Smokin in Steele (Master & Backyard Contest)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score326.2172 Bent Brewstillery BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best overall score326.2172 Bent Brewstillery BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest Bent Brewstillery BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
20213 milestones
- First tracked contest Minnesota in May
- First call Minnesota in May
- Peak power rating (1498) Minnesota in May
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +1.9 | Smokin in Steele (Master & Backyard Contest) | Jun 3, 2022 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.6 | B-Dale BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 7, 2021 |
| -4.4 | Bent Brewstillery BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) | Sep 10, 2022 |
| -1.6 | Minnesota in May | May 7, 2021 |
| -0.8 | Minnesota in May (Backyard) | May 13, 2022 |
Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33% | top 57% | 90.6% | 88.3% |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 71% | 88.1% | 86.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10, 2022 | Bent Brewstillery BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) Roseville, MN | 21 / 30 (326.2172) | 20 (161.6800) | 16 (164.5372) | — | — |
| Jun 3, 2022 | Smokin in Steele (Master & Backyard Contest) 🏅 Owatonna, MN | 14 / 33 (304.5372) | 18 (134.2744) | 2 (170.2628) | — | — |
| May 13, 2022 | Minnesota in May (Backyard) Cambridge, MN | 22 / 38 (322.8116) | 29 (158.2400) | 13 (164.5716) | — | — |
| Aug 7, 2021 | B-Dale BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) Roseville, MN | 19 / 21 (303.8856) | 11 (162.8228) | 19 (141.0628) | — | — |
| May 7, 2021 | Minnesota in May 🏅 Cambridge, MN | 31 / 60 (317.1316) | 9 (168) | 39 (149.1316) | — | — |