I’m sure I’m not alone in this, but I love a good alternative history story. These are stories where a crucial piece is changed creating a highly entertaining and thought-provoking ripple effect. It's more commonly referred to as playing the 'What-If' game, and it's one of my favorite pastimes.

Last week we discussed what could have been had Dennis Dixon not suffered a season-ending knee surgery back in 2007. Today this will once again be a quarterback-centric story, but of a different sort.

After Dixon departed in 2007, the Ducks ran with JUCO quarterback Jeremiah Masoli for two successful years, and then Darron Thomas for two more. But, in the midst of Thomas leading the Ducks to the program's first national title game, the Ducks were rounding up some of the nation's best prep quarterbacks.

I say nation's best because of their reputation now. In June of 2010, the Ducks landed verbal commitments from four-star prep quarterback Jerrard Randall from Hollywood (Fla.) and a pair of three-stars sleepers by the names of Johnny Manziel of Kerrville (Tex.) and Marcus Mariota of Honolulu (Haw.). At the time, Randall was seen as the most promising of the crew, and the others as diamonds in the rough.

As anyone reading this article knows, Mariota and Manziel would shine bright during careers that earned each the sport's ultimate individual prize (first Manziel in 2012 followed by Mariota in 2014), while Randall had academic issues, wound up signing with LSU before failing to get in, going to JUCO and wrapping up an unheralded career at Arizona.

There's a lot of What-Ifs at play here, but, I'm going to focus on two. First, what happens if Manziel had stuck with his Oregon commitment and had enrolled at Oregon? And secondly, what might have happened if Oregon had never been tipped off about Mariota, and would have signed only Manziel in that class?

If there's one athletic event I wish I could have attended in the past 10 years, it might just be Oregon's team football camp in mid-June of 2010. Mariota and Manziel both attended that camp, and undoubtedly showed off the stuff that eventually led to a pair of Heisman Trophy wins and first-round draft picks.

Ultimately the pair separated. Manziel flipped to Texas A&M in September of 2010, citing the opportunity to play in front of his friends and family, while Mariota stuck with the commitment and the rest is history.

But, let's say that didn't happen. Let's say both players enroll the following summer. What the heck happens?

First, it's worth mentioning that Thomas still had eligibility. And more than that, he was really freaking good in both 2010 and 2011. Not only that, but the Ducks also had Bryan Bennett, who'd signed with Oregon the year prior, on the roster. Even in the non-revisionist history universe, the trio of Thomas, Bennett and Mariota constitutes one of the best assemblages of quarterback talent in program history. Toss in Manziel, and now it might be one of the best at one school at one time ever.

As legend has it, Mariota was so darned impressive in the spring of 2012, that Thomas decided to exit stage left and headed pro to guarantee he didn't become the next Wally Pipp, and Mariota beat out Bennett that fall to become a starter as a redshirt freshman.

Does all of that still happen if Manziel is also on campus?

My instinct is yes, it absolutely does. Remember, Manziel won the Heisman that season at Texas A&M. Despite being undersized for the position (a shortcoming that really only caught up to him at the next level), he dominated as a true freshman in 2011. I think Thomas takes off, and ultimately, I think Oregon knew what they had in Mariota, and he beats out Manziel.

Mariota was taller and more physically gifted, and frankly, I'm not sure there's been another quarterback more adept at running Chip Kelly's blur spread option offense than him. Mariota was basically the result of a create-a-player video game feature if Kelly and then offensive coordinator Mark Helfirch were on the sticks.

My best guess is that Manziel ends up transferring back to Texas somewhere after it becomes clear he won't win the starting gig over Mariota, and the rest plays out basically as it did. The one clear alteration is that Manziel does not win the 2012 Heisman Trophy (he's either on Oregon's roster or sitting out as a transfer), meaning that Notre Dame's Manti Te'o, who was runner-up that year, likely becomes the first defensive winner of the award since Charles Woodson in 1997.

Now, let's look at what happens if Steve Greatwood drops his phone in the toilet along with every other electronic device he owns and isn't tipped off about Mariota from an island contact. Mariota ends up signing at Washington (his other finalist along with Memphis), but Manziel doesn't change commitments as he now feels confident he'll play once Thomas is no longer on the roster.

[There's obviously also a third reality where neither player ends up at Oregon, but that seems far too bleak to consider or discuss.]

In this bizzaro world, Thomas doesn't leave. He doesn't fear Manziel, a 5-foot-11 quarterback from his home state, as much as Mariota, and he remains at Oregon in 2012. The Ducks run through the Pac-12 like they did the year prior. Oregon even beats Stanford on Nov. 17 (the lone blemish of the 2012 season) due to Thomas' experience and superb play, and for the second time in three years, Thomas leads Oregon back to the national title, where they beat Notre Dame (which might the worst title game participant of the past decade) to win the school's first ever national championships. He's a Heisman Trophy finalist and is remembered as the program's best ever.

Manziel beats out Bennett the following year and is the team's starting quarterback in 2013 and 2014. Manziel never wins a Heisman Trophy. His teams, like the ones at Texas A&M, win several big-time games each year, but he falls flat a few too many times each season. The Heisman committee passes on him, in part because he's playing out west — where a player has to be a transcendent talent or never lose a game — but also because he shares the west coast spotlight with Mariota, who has suddenly made Washington a contender.

The Huskies and Ducks square off each year in high-scoring affairs. The Ducks win the the first in 2014, but lose second one in 2015, which costs Oregon a shot for another title game appearance. Manziel goes down as a fan favorite, one who many ride-or-die with due to his Favre-ean heroics on the field and his brash persona off it.

With Mariota at Washington, head coach Steve Sarkiesian never leaves for USC because Mariota elevates the program. That also means they are stuck with him instead of Chris Petersen once Mariota leaves. Oregon still rolls with Helfrich once Kelly leaves, and Oregon falls back in 2016, but not to the extent they do in reality. The worst loss in program history to the Washington Huskies however doesn't happen either.

Helfrich is not retained following the 2017 season when the Ducks truly take the step off the cliff. After weeks scouring for the next head coach, they land on Kevin Sumlin who is set to make his debut with the Ducks this fall.

OK, you can exit this fever dream now, and thank me that this only hypothetical and not reality. But, I leave you with this, would you trade a Thomas-led title in 2012 for the three best quarterbacking years in program history under Mariota?