How Florida State’s exit from ACC would have “Oppenheimer-like” impact on CFB world

According to Brent McMurphy of Action Network, Florida State is looking into leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference after missing out on the College Football Playoff. While their superstar QB was out for the rest of the season, it can be argued that the reason the Seminoles were not able to make the playoff was because of the conference that they are in.

The Seminoles are having a board of trustees meeting to discuss a potential exit from the conference. Florida State would likely need a tremendous amount of capital to leave the conference since the team would have to pay a huge exit fee and would have to get out of a clause that gives the conference control of FSU's TV rights until 2036.

While it will take an extreme amount of money and legal work for Florida State to leave the conference if the school, it could produce an "Oppenheimer-like" effect for the rest of the College Football landscape, according to McMurphy's sources.

If the Seminoles are able to get out of their contract, it clearly provides a pathway for other schools not satisfied with the ACC's TV contract to leave the conference.

Does the ACC stand a chance of long-term survival if Florida State finds a way out?

While the ACC will most likely still exist, things will get extremely bad for the conference if Florida State leaves. If the Seminoles are able to muster the capital needed to leave the conference, it is an effort that can most likely be replicated by Clemson and other top programs in the conference. The ACC will have a huge challenge of replacing these teams with their current contract.

If the conference loses its top teams, it's hard to see the conference being able to keep its Power 5 status and could be seen as a highly inferior product to the Big Ten and SEC. For the hope of college football as a whole, let's hope that Florida State isn't able to get the funds needed to leave the conference anytime soon.