I view time of possession as a metric that indicates which (if any) team has been able to dictate tempo and pace of play. Teams with a significant TOP advantage generally control the game—they have demonstrated the ability to determine how long their drives last. This is a benefit, in that it forces opponents to play away from their strengths and into the preferred style of the team with the TOP advantage. Obvious outliers exist (Clemson, some of the Air Raid teams, etc.) but for many situations this general principle appears to hold true.

I'd also point out that teams do not get an equal number of drives; this is football, not baseball, and the constraints of a clock sometimes give teams a slight advantage in number of drives.

Additionally, not all drives are equal. One team may score right before the half ends and then kick off with only seconds remaining in the period. Although the receiving team technically gets a matching drive, the usefulness of that drive is practically nonexistent.

I can agree with you that TOP is sometimes over-emphasized. But I'd also suggest that your view is overly-simplistic. Teams don't have an equal number of drives, or even an equal number of opportunities to score. And time of possession is a useful metric for gauging other nuances of the game (including the ability to dictate pace and style of play).