Your situation sounds very similar to my own. Long time football fan, prefer NFL over College, fed up of how stale and uninspiring Madden often feels.
I picked up NCAA 14, it's my first NCAA game and I'm very much enjoying it. There are a number of elements to the game that have me hooked:
I like the large spread in teams and their abilities. 32 teams in Madden, few at the top, few at the bottom, not much separating everyone else. I like (strange as it sounds) playing games I have less than say, a 10% chance of winning, regardless of what I do. On madden, I seem to spend all my time trying NOT to win the Superbowl so I don't get bored so quickly.
The Coaching carousel allows you to feel like you are creating a career, where you can move up from team to team as you improve. In Madden you pick who you like, when you like. How is that interesting or realistic?
The ability to play as a coordinator. I've played 5 seasons of my dynasty now, not a massively frequent player but I've had the game since a few weeks after release. I've still not played a single snap on defence. 3 years at Army as OC playing just snaps on offence, into my 2nd year at Mid Tenn State now. I feel I'll get a head coaching job when I deserve one, see the above point about career progression.
There are good sliders. I personally like mine. They are a challenge , but this isn't madden or NCAA specific, just a general thing. I find NCAA a challenge. I get beat a fair amount to, especially since I have no control over special teams or defence. Just gotta fiddle around til something works. Also, use house rules for recruiting or it can get too easy and stale. I have house rules, and I really enjoy recruiting, it excites me.
Finally, I wrote this in another thread recently and I still think its pretty true. Don't expect football. You aren't getting football. Madden isn't football, and neither is NCAA. You are getting EA Sports version of football, that's been built on years of not quite right decisions that then evolve into how the game plays (like the lineman interaction. Fundamentally flawed, but never addressed). If you can accept that fact, NCAA will be fine for you. I liken it to wanting an orange, but getting a lemon. They're nearly the same shape, they're both a citrus fruit, but they're just not the same. EA don't make football sims, they make EA Sports football games. Kinda the same but not quite. But you played Madden so you know that anyway