how do you guys come up with power ratings that give you a line for the game. What kind of software does it take or can you do it by hand? Interested in Football and Basketball.
Figuring out your own numbers will take years to perfect. There are many excellent mathematicians who publish their figures on the internet. My personal site has what you are looking for in terms of the numerical difference in ratings being equal to the theoretical spread on a neutral field. Jeff Sagarin does the numbers for USA Today, and those are available on the internet also. Do a Google search and you'll find many sets. They will all produce different results, and I recommend that they only be used as a tool to find line value, not to make picks soley based on a net result. My site won't have "live" numbers until 5 weeks have been completed, and you definitely shouldn't attempt to use power numbers in handicapping for the first month of the season. Power numbers are very complex to create, and it's very tricky to use them properly in handicapping as well.
Here's a link for all the power ratings you'll ever need from all the power rating experts like Sagarin, Massey e.t.c. Check out Born Power Index, just put in the schools and it'll give you a spread prediction Good luck.
