Groundhog Smokers

Groundhog Smokers is a competition barbecue team with 19 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2026. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Butlerfest 2019 (BACKYARD ONLY) (2019), and finished Reserve Grand Champion twice. They are ranked #1203 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Ground Hog Smokers”.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,203

of 6,477 rated · rankings

Rating

1587

peak 1588 · rated over 18 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Mar 13, 2015

latest Mar 13, 2026 · 11 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#2910

Master 2016 · every season

Grand champs

2 reserve · wins it all 5% of the time

Category wins

8 podiums

Overall top-10s

53% of 19 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 36%

overall standings

Best overall

673.6116 / 720

Master · Poosa Q

Perfect 180s

Current form

334.93 ▼

last 5 Backyard vs avg 336.76 (-1.82)

Walk rate

68%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

176.5600

Pork · Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY)

Consistency

±5.19

spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 169.41 · weakest Brisket (156.74)

Road miles

2,347

across 19 mapped stops · furthest 266 mi

Schedule strength

42%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1555)

Purse competed for

$234K

listed at 14 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 6 state-championship entries

Master avg

647.53 / 720

5 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

336.76 / 360

8 Backyard contests · 1 GC

Backyard (3-meat) avg

501.07 / 540

5 Backyard (3-meat) contests · 0 GCs

These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.

This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.

Storylines (14 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

Against the odds

34-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 66 times in 100

Their Grand Championship at Butlerfest 2019 (BACKYARD ONLY) (Oct 11, 2019) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 34-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, Sweet Cheeks BBQ.

They almost always walk

68% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 13 of 19 contests

A top-10 category call in 68% of their 19 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

673.6116 career-best overall

93.6% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 673.6116 at Poosa Q — 93.6% of a perfect 720.

Master
Oct 5, 2023

The one to beat

3× one call ahead of them

LEE LA Q has finished one call ahead of Groundhog Smokers 3 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2019 1 Grand Championship

2019 was the year it came together: 4 contests, 1 Grand Championship and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 26%.

4 contests
2 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 26%

The weak link

−12.7 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 12.67 points below their pork, and turns into a call 20% of the time against 58%.

Brisket avg 156.74
Pork avg 169.41
1 call in 5 entries

The drought

12 contests since the last title

Their last Grand Championship came at Butlerfest 2019 (BACKYARD ONLY) on Oct 11, 2019 — 12 contests and 7 years ago.

last GC Oct 11, 2019
7 years ago

Show 7 more storylines

A strong matchup

8–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Holy Smokers in 8 of their 8 shared contests.

The comeback

2 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 2 years, then back at D'Iberville BBQ Throw down Kids Q & Festival (JUDGES FULL) (Feb 23, 2018).

last seen Feb 26, 2016
back Feb 23, 2018

Pork nemesis

3 of 4 shared pork entries lost

RIBLIFE ahead 75% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, RIBLIFE has out-cooked them in 3 of 4 shared pork entries.

Announced themselves early

2nd at their very first contest

Finished 2 of 17 at their very first tracked contest, 2015 BBQ & Brew (BACKYARD CONTEST ONLY) (Mar 13, 2015).

Mar 13, 2015
17-team field

A March team

Top 22% average finish in March

Something about March: average finish in the top 22% across 7 contests, versus top 36% the rest of the year.

7 March contests
top 36% the rest of the year

The metronome

±2.41% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.41% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 92.3% of a perfect score
19 contests

A standing appointment

5 years running at one contest

They've cooked Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) every year from 2020 to 2024 — the contest they never miss.

6 visits in all
best finish 4th

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

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2016 ↗	Master	#2910 (55 pts)	#2916 (55 pts)	#2928 (55 pts)	#2271 (70 pts)	#2921 (55 pts)

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to Groundhog Smokers, each with one reason worth a look.

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

Going Yard BBQ

#1,206 of the rated field

1586 power rating

Contests: 53
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 28%
Peak: 1607

1–3 in 4 shared contests (25% to Groundhog Smokers)

These two have cooked 4 of the same contests — Going Yard BBQ ahead 3–1 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

rated over 51 contests
last seen Jul 9, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

412Q

#1,200 of the rated field

1587 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 35%
Peak: 1606

Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 9 years before Groundhog Smokers's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 17 contests

⚔ Compare careers

HOT AND FAST BBQ

#1,195 of the rated field

1587 power rating

Contests: 23
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 35%
Peak: 1590

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 22 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 22 contests
last seen Apr 6, 2020

⚔ Compare careers

KEEP CALM AND BLAZE ON

#1,196 of the rated field

1587 power rating

Contests: 23
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 48%
Peak: 1587

Careers of much the same size, 23 contests to 19, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 23 contests
last seen Sep 22, 2017

⚔ Compare careers

Taylor Made BBQ

#1,197 of the rated field

1587 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 36%
Peak: 1591

14 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 36% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 14 contests
last seen Aug 22, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

T-Squared BBQ

#1,201 of the rated field

1587 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 29%
Peak: 1588

They turned up 6 years after Groundhog Smokers did, first appearing in 2021.

rated over 14 contests
last seen Oct 30, 2024

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
LEE LA Q	14	4	10	29%	⚔ compare
RIBLIFE	12	6	6	50%	⚔ compare
REDBONES BBQ	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare
RAMMER JAMMER BBQ	9	2	7	22%	⚔ compare
SNEAKY_CREEK_BBQ	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare
Holy Smokers	8	8	0	100%	⚔ compare
Hickory Hangover	8	4	4	50%	⚔ compare
PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
BAMA BOYS BBQ	7	3	4	43%	⚔ compare
Flaps Up BBQ	7	3	4	43%	⚔ compare
Pigs in a Blanket	6	6	0	100%	⚔ compare
T-Ray's Rack Rubbers	6	6	0	100%	⚔ compare
PERFECTLY BLENDED	6	4	2	67%	⚔ compare
The Real Squeal BBQ	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
Organizer Portal	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	18	11	1	176.0344	155.9312	168.24	top 36%
Pork Ribs	18	5	2	175.4400	140.5372	163.44	top 50%
Pork	12	7	4	176.5600	160.5716	169.41	top 32%
Brisket	5	1	1	167.3828	146.7428	156.74	top 66%

“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
Small (<20 teams)	1	0	top 12%
Medium (20–39)	12	1	top 34%
Large (40+)	5	0	top 45%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
AL	16	1	top 34%
TN	1	0	top 36%
MS	1	0	top 67%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY)	6	4	0	top 24%	Mar 13, 2026
Poosa Q	4	12	0	top 48%	Oct 4, 2024

More numbers

Busiest season 2019 4 contests · 1 GC

Contests a season 1.9 across 10 seasons in the data

Most contests held in AL 17 of 19 contests · 3 states in all

Contests visited 10 2 of them more than once

First title Oct 11, 2019 Butlerfest 2019 (BACKYARD ONLY)

Opponents faced 467 finished ahead 466 times, behind 375

Longest layoff 2 yrs Feb 26, 2016 → Feb 23, 2018

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

20262 milestones

Mar 13 Career-best single call (Pork)176.5600 Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY)
Mar 13 Most recent contest Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY)

20241 milestone

Mar 9 Peak power rating (1588) Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY)

20231 milestone

Oct 5 Career-best overall score673.6116 Poosa Q

20201 milestone

Mar 13 10th tracked contest Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY)

20192 milestones

Feb 22 First overall past 90% of a perfect score334.2512 Bama Q Capital City Cook-Off
Oct 11 First Grand Championship Butlerfest 2019 (BACKYARD ONLY)

20155 milestones

Mar 13 First tracked contest 2015 BBQ & Brew (BACKYARD CONTEST ONLY)
Mar 13 First call 2015 BBQ & Brew (BACKYARD CONTEST ONLY)
Mar 13 First overall top-10 2015 BBQ & Brew (BACKYARD CONTEST ONLY)
Mar 13 First overall podium 2015 BBQ & Brew (BACKYARD CONTEST ONLY)
Mar 13 First Reserve Championship 2015 BBQ & Brew (BACKYARD CONTEST ONLY)

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15.9	Butlerfest 2019 (BACKYARD ONLY)	Oct 11, 2019
+14.3	Kick It In The Sticks (BACKYARD ONLY)	Jun 5, 2020
+14	2015 BBQ & Brew (BACKYARD CONTEST ONLY)	Mar 13, 2015
+10.6	Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY)	Mar 10, 2023
+9.9	Poosa-Q	Jun 14, 2019

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.9	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	Feb 26, 2016
-5.4	Poosa Q	Oct 4, 2024
-2.7	D'Iberville BBQ Throw down Kids Q & Festival (JUDGES FULL)	Feb 23, 2018
-2	Poosa Q	Oct 5, 2023
-1.3	Poosa Q	May 5, 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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	1	0	1	100%	top 30%	92.7%	92.7%
2024	2	0	1	100%	top 52%	93.6%	93.4%
2023	2	0	1	50%	top 32%	93.6%	93.5%
2022	2	0	1	100%	top 34%	93.4%	92.6%
2021	1	0	1	100%	top 21%	92.6%	92.6%
2020	3	0	2	67%	top 27%	95.4%	93.1%
2019	4	1	2	75%	top 26%	96%	94%
2018	2	0	0	0%	top 67%	88.1%	88.1%
2016	1	0	0	0%	top 97%	87.5%	87.5%
2015	1	0	1	100%	top 12%	86.9%	86.9%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Mar 13, 2026	Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Foley, AL	9 / 30 (333.6804)	5 (170.2860)	16 (163.3944)	2 (176.5600)	—
Oct 4, 2024	Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL	40 / 59 (673.5884)	42 (167.4056)	48 (164.5256)	8 (175.4172)	45 (166.2400)
Mar 9, 2024	Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Foley, AL	10 / 28 (335.3484)	6 (171.9656)	17 (163.3828)	6 (173.1428)	—
Oct 5, 2023	Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL	38 / 73 (673.6116)	36 (168.5600)	32 (170.2744)	43 (167.3944)	43 (167.3828)
Mar 10, 2023	Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Foley, AL	4 / 31 (504.4684)	5 (170.2628)	5 (170.8228)	11 (163.3828)	—
May 5, 2022	Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL	33 / 72 (330.2172)	9 (173.1200)	43 (157.0972)	—	—
Mar 12, 2022	Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Foley, AL	6 / 26 (504.5260)	4 (175.4288)	23 (155.9772)	3 (173.1200)	—
Mar 12, 2021	Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Foley, AL	6 / 28 (499.9316)	6 (171.9772)	16 (157.6572)	3 (170.2972)	—
Jun 5, 2020	Kick It In The Sticks (BACKYARD ONLY) Butler, AL	2 / 23 (343.4516)	2 (173.7028)	4 (169.7488)	—	—
Mar 13, 2020	Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Foley, AL	5 / 23 (495.2912)	8 (163.9312)	6 (165.1200)	9 (166.2400)	—
Feb 21, 2020	Capital City Cook Off 🏅 Montgomery, AL	13 / 25 (331.9660)	15 (167.3944)	12 (164.5716)	—	—
Oct 25, 2019	Jack Daniel's World Championship Shade Tree Contest (BACKYARD) (JUDGES FULL) Lynchburg, TN	15 / 42 (501.1084)	14 (168.0344)	24 (162.2628)	12 (170.8112)	—
Oct 11, 2019	Butlerfest 2019 (BACKYARD ONLY) Butler, AL	1 / 20 (345.7028)	4 (170.2628)	2 (175.4400)	—	—
Jun 14, 2019	Poosa-Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL	12 / 48 (339.4288)	5 (176.0344)	22 (163.3944)	—	—
Feb 22, 2019	Bama Q Capital City Cook-Off 🏅 Montgomery, AL	10 / 27 (334.2512)	14 (160.5484)	3 (173.7028)	—	—
May 18, 2018	Smoke on the Diamond (BACKYARD ONLY) Brookwood, AL	—	—	—	—	—
Feb 23, 2018	D'Iberville BBQ Throw down Kids Q & Festival (JUDGES FULL) D'Iberville, MS	18 / 27 (634.6628)	18 (162.2628)	15 (165.0856)	18 (160.5716)	23 (146.7428)
Feb 26, 2016	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Daphne, AL	29 / 30 (630.1484)	29 (155.9312)	28 (158.8572)	22 (164.5600)	30 (150.8000)
Mar 13, 2015	2015 BBQ & Brew (BACKYARD CONTEST ONLY) Fairhope, AL	2 / 17 (625.6340)	7 (161.1428)	14 (140.5372)	3 (171.4284)	2 (152.5256)

Groundhog Smokers

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Backyard avg

Backyard (3-meat) avg

Storylines (14 found in their record)

Against the odds

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

The weak link

The drought

A strong matchup

The comeback

Pork nemesis

Announced themselves early

A March team

The metronome

A standing appointment

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)

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

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

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

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

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

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

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