I got you.
And I think if you want NCAA football to more resemble NCAA basketball - i.e. playoffs are hte most important part - then that is the direction we should move towards.
I admit I am in the minority but I prefer the way it is now, or better yet, the way it used to be, to a playoff system. I like that the regular season is basically a playoff.
Although in your example I think the regular season would still have a lot of intensity during the regular season - since it would only be 10 games, one loss is huge. But it still wouldn't be quite the same. Take Florida this year. Suppose just like this year they lost a conference game but still win their division - now further suppose they drop the Fla. St. game. They have 2 losses in 11 games (they win the conference title game) but still get to play for the national title.