football recruiting, maybe. But not recruiting in general. Recruiting is the lifeblood of a program. You don't win, period, without the personnel no matter what kind of coach you have. To say it's not is rationalizing.
Now for who gets the rankings right, is debatable. The coaches, recruitniks, etc. But in general the recruiting rankings reflect the most powerful football teams. There's plenty of variables in there, but the key word is general.
Why is recruiting hyped? It's simple. You get some good players, you have a good chance of being good in the future. Hope is a good thing. And it's a trend that pays off more than not in college sports. Good indicator of the path your program is headed.