To keep the positivity, I'm actually loving this game right now -
Years ago during v1.0, I worked up to a P6 school in Virginia Tech and felt like I had the program in the right direction before the coach of Duke, who was on his way out of WIS (I still remember the user's name), used the 'pay recruit' option (I don't remember what it was called exactly - but it essentially guaranteed you get the recruit in return for essentially guaranteeing you are banned from postseason) to poach my top 2 or 3 recruits for laughs.
I bounced in and out of the game at D2, worked my way back up to arrive at 'Nova and felt like I was, again, putting the program in the right direction, before they updated the game to v2.0 I believe. I lost care for the game. I came back months laters for a one off season at Louisville but couldn't figure out the game and didn't have a lot of free time to do so.
Now I'm at UVA and I'm loving the game. I started off with a horrific D+ roster (where I didn't realize the importance of rescinding the SIM AI scholarships until it was too late) in, arguably, the toughest conference in D1 Knight (highest conference prestige and RPI, but no championships for the conference since I've arrived so it can be debated). I've lost out on recruits when I was the heavy favorite, I've been pushed late by teams of better prestige, and I'm learning about the differences between v1/ 2/ 3 the hard way. Still, I've never enjoyed the game more. I just won the top recruit in my state (#6 overall recruit) as the underdog. I know the percentage mechanic can absolutely ruin a recruiting cycle, but it can also change a team for the better. I've been on both ends in my short time back and, personally, I've enjoyed it.
Does it have flaws? Yeah, I'm not blind to that. Can it be better? Yes, without a doubt, but the same can be said about any damn game. As for now, I'm just loving this game. I'd be surprised if anyone read this far, and I apologize for wasting your time if you did, but I just wanted to contribute to the positive vibes that pallas is putting out there.