Chris Vargas was nicknamed “Magic” by his teammates at the University of Nevada-Reno for an uncanny ability to deliver victory whenever the Wolf Pack trailed. Vargas was a the helm during the greatest comeback in NCAA history in 1991 against Weber State, when Nevada rallied from a 35-point deficit for a 55-49 victory. Vargas is a member of Nevada’s All-Century team. Vargas also led Nevada to two straight come-from-behind overtime victories during the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs in 1990, as Nevada qualified for its first and only I-AA championship game appearance. In 1992, Vargas’ efforts helped Nevada to its first bowl appearance in 44 years, as he was named the MVP of the 1992 Las Vegas Bowl. Coming off the bench and playing only one half of football against Bowling Green, Vargas threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns as Nevada erased a 28-3 halftime deficit to lead 34-28 before losing in the final 22 seconds on the game. After splitting time with starter Fred Gatlin for his first three years at Nevada, Vargas became Nevada’s starter in 1993 for his senior seasons. He recorded one of the greatest seasons for a Nevada quarterback, throwing for 4,265 yards and 34 touchdowns.
“Varg was just unflappable,” said Nevada football coach Chris Ault, who coached the Woodland, Calif., native during Vargas’ first three seasons at Nevada. “He was the architect of so many of those great comeback victories in the 90s. He was a special person, a special quarterback, and his teammates always knew he was capable of special things whenever he trotted out onto the field for the Wolf Pack.”
After his college days were over, Vargas joined the Edmonton Eskimos in 1994. Vargas saw limited action in his first season, but played a lot more in his second season with the Eskimos in 1995, throwing for 2302 yards.. Edmonton then traded Vargas along with offensive lineman Craig Hendrickson for defensive lineman Glen Scrivener and a first round draft pick. Varga saw limited action with the Lions in 1996 with just 61 pass attempts and he was traded to Winnipeg just before the 1997 season for a couple of draft picks.. Varga saw his most action in the CFL with the Bombers in 1197 with 385 pass attempts and 2618 yards passing. Vargas returned to the Bobmers ini 1998, but was released early in the season.
Following his football career, Vargas started work as a financial planner back in Reno.
| Year | Team | GP | PA | PC | % | Yds | TD | Int | Sacked | Yds | TC | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | PTS | F | FL | OFR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | EDM | 18 | 19 | 12 | 63.2 | 179 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | EDM | 18 | 297 | 157 | 52.9 | 2302 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 54 | 3.2 | 1 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | BC | 16 | 61 | 27 | 44.3 | 542 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1997 | WPG | 18 | 385 | 201 | 52.2 | 2618 | 15 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 108 | 4.9 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| 1998 | WPG | 5 | 30 | 12 | 46 | 180 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
