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
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1450
peak 1450 · rated over 6 contests ⓘ
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
2013-05-17
latest 2025-08-16
Best ToY finish
#289
Backyard 2026
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 87%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
629.66
last 3 Master vs avg 629.66 (-0.00)
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±5.75
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 158.27 · weakest Brisket (152.37)
Road miles
149
mi across 6 mapped stops · furthest 46 mi
Schedule strength
44%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1557)
Purse competed for
$9K
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
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is 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.
Storylines (2 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.
The comeback
5.2 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 5.2 years, then back at Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) (2023-08-19).
- last seen 2018-06-01
- back 2023-08-19
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.
127 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5516 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#5479 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1451
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#5509 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1450
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 8 years after ROOT RIVER BOTTOM SMOKER did, first appearing in 2021.
⚔ Head-to-head#5498 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1450
No shared contest yet.
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.
⚔ Head-to-head#5514 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1450
No shared contest yet.
Level with ROOT RIVER BOTTOM SMOKER on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#5513 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1450
No shared contest yet.
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.
⚔ Head-to-headBy 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 | 172.0000 | 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 contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 3 | 0 | top 92% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 82% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring 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% | 2025-08-16 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
12.2 yrs
2013-05-17 → 2025-08-16
Busiest season
2013
2 contests
Contests a season
1.2
across 5 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MN
6 of 6 contests
Contests visited
4
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
6 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 158.27 · weakest Brisket (152.37)
Walk rate
33%
a top-10 call in 2 of 6 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 6 contests
Master average
629.66
out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
306.63
out of 360 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
158
34–173 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
149
6 mapped stops · furthest 46 mi
Schedule strength
1557
average field rating faced — tougher than 44% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$9,050
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
Longest layoff
5.2 yrs
2018-06-01 → 2023-08-19
Power rating
1450
peak 1450 · #5496 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest Minnesota in May
- First call Minnesota in May
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)172.0000 Minnesota in May
- Peak power rating (1491) Minnesota in May
- Career-best overall score634.2854 Treasure Island International BBQ Championship
- 2025
- Most recent contest Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.1 | Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2024-08-17 |
| -8.9 | Minnesota in May | 2013-05-17 |
| -8.8 | Treasure Island International BBQ Championship | 2013-06-15 |
| -8.7 | Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2025-08-16 |
| -7.2 | Smokin In Steele | 2018-06-01 |
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 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-08-16 | Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Canton, MN | 16 / 17 (311.9888) | 15 (159.9772) | 16 (152.0116) | — | — |
| 2024-08-17 | Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Canton, MN | 17 / 18 (289.6572) | 17 (150.8228) | 17 (138.8344) | — | — |
| 2023-08-19 | Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Canton, MN | 14 / 16 (318.2400) | 8 (169.7372) | 15 (148.5028) | — | — |
| 2018-06-01 | Smokin In Steele Owatonna, MN | 38 / 45 (621.5548) | 42 (151.9428) | 41 (154.2516) | 35 (157.1088) | 29 (158.2516) |
| 2013-06-15 | Treasure Island International BBQ Championship Welch, MN | 55 / 68 (634.2854) | 58 (156.0000) | 48 (161.7142) | 55 (159.9998) | 46 (156.5714) |
| 2013-05-17 | Minnesota in May Faribault, MN | 39 / 49 (633.1428) | 33 (161.1430) | 7 (172.0000) | 45 (157.7142) | 49 (142.2856) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #289 (78 pts) | #294 (78 pts) | #268 (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) |