Completely wrong.
Everything you say is wrong.
"Nobody cares about college basketball from November - beginning of Feb." Wrong.
Most of the best non-conference matchups occur in November-December. Unfortunately, that is while college football is hitting its peak.
"Now only 11 out of 12 matter". Wrong.
They all matter. The avoidance of losing matters. You shouldn't just get to say "I'm the national champion because I won 12 games". By the same measure, Miami University (of Ohio) should be the #1 basketball team in the country, right?
Here's the reality. We want good teams to play in the regular season. We want good matchups. We want good ratings. Who gives a **** if a team is 12-0 and played nobody? And why should a Week 1 game between #1 and #2 substantially disqualify the loser?
College football season is fantastic. Every game matters, even if you can't win them all.
But until recently, it was the only team sport at any level that could host a championship game without any form of playoff whatsoever.