A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
Big Ten Bones ahead in 100% of their meetings
Big Ten Bones has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
ROOT RIVER BOTTOM SMOKER
ROOT RIVER BOTTOM SMOKER is a competition barbecue team with 6 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 14th of 16 at the Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) (2023). They are ranked #5526 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1450
peak 1450 · rated over 6 contests
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
May 17, 2013
latest Aug 16, 2025 · 12.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 87%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±5.75
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 158.27 · weakest Brisket (152.37)
Road miles
149
across 6 mapped stops · furthest 46 mi
Schedule strength
44%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1557)
Purse competed for
$9,050
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
Master avg
629.66 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
306.63 / 360
3 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360), 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #316 (78 pts) | #321 (78 pts) | #291 (108 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #339 (87 pts) | #338 (92 pts) | #354 (87 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #353 (83 pts) | #354 (83 pts) | #355 (83 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #246 (136 pts) | #314 (91 pts) | — | — |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #1954 (60 pts) | #2012 (60 pts) | #1996 (60 pts) | #2030 (60 pts) | #1990 (60 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to ROOT RIVER BOTTOM SMOKER, each with one reason worth a look.
122 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5,536 of the rated field
- Contests
- 32
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1450
2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to ROOT RIVER BOTTOM SMOKER)
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team ROOT RIVER BOTTOM SMOKER has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#5,515 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1451
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,528 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1450
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 6 years before ROOT RIVER BOTTOM SMOKER's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#5,542 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1450
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.
⚔ Compare careers#5,548 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1450
Level with ROOT RIVER BOTTOM SMOKER on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#5,535 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1450
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 7 years before ROOT RIVER BOTTOM SMOKER'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 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.7372 | 150.8228 | 158.27 | top 80% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 172 | 138.8344 | 154.55 | top 76% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159.9998 | 157.1088 | 158.27 | top 83% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 158.2516 | 142.2856 | 152.37 | top 77% |
“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) | 3 | 0 | top 92% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 82% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) | 3 | 14 | 0 | top 92% | Aug 16, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2013
2 contests
Contests a season
1.2
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MN
6 of 6 contests
Contests visited
4
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
158
finished ahead 34 times, behind 173
Longest layoff
5.2 yrs
Jun 1, 2018 → Aug 19, 2023
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20251 milestone
- Most recent contest Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY)
20135 milestones
- First tracked contest Minnesota in May
- First call Minnesota in May
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)172 Minnesota in May
- Peak power rating (1491) Minnesota in May
- Career-best overall score634.2854 Treasure Island International BBQ Championship
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.1 | Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 17, 2024 |
| -8.9 | Minnesota in May | May 17, 2013 |
| -8.8 | Treasure Island International BBQ Championship | Jun 15, 2013 |
| -8.7 | Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 16, 2025 |
| -7.2 | Smokin In Steele | Jun 1, 2018 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 94% | 86.7% | 86.7% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 94% | 80.5% | 80.5% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 88% | 88.4% | 88.4% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 84% | 86.3% | 86.3% |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 80% | 88.1% | 88% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 2025 | Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Canton, MN | 16 / 17 (311.9888) | 15 (159.9772) | 16 (152.0116) | — | — |
| Aug 17, 2024 | Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Canton, MN | 17 / 18 (289.6572) | 17 (150.8228) | 17 (138.8344) | — | — |
| Aug 19, 2023 | Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Canton, MN | 14 / 16 (318.2400) | 8 (169.7372) | 15 (148.5028) | — | — |
| Jun 1, 2018 | Smokin In Steele Owatonna, MN | 38 / 45 (621.5548) | 42 (151.9428) | 41 (154.2516) | 35 (157.1088) | 29 (158.2516) |
| Jun 15, 2013 | Treasure Island International BBQ Championship Welch, MN | 55 / 68 (634.2854) | 58 (156) | 48 (161.7142) | 55 (159.9998) | 46 (156.5714) |
| May 17, 2013 | Minnesota in May Faribault, MN | 39 / 49 (633.1428) | 33 (161.1430) | 7 (172) | 45 (157.7142) | 49 (142.2856) |