The 1982 Hall of Fame Classic, part of the 1982–83 bowl game season, was the sixth annual contest and took place on December 31 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
[3][6][7] Air Force finished the regular season at 7–5,[8] with losses to Tulsa, Texas Tech, New Mexico, Colorado State, and Hawaii.
[8] They accepted an invitation to play in the Hall of Fame Classic against Vanderbilt following their upset of Notre Dame on November 20,[9] then lost at Hawaii the following week.
[6] In the third, the Falcons scored on a 21-yard Sean Pavlich field goal and the Commodores on Jordan's third touchdown reception of the evening to give Vanderbilt a 28–17 lead entering the fourth quarter.
[6] For their performances, Vanderbilt quarterback Whit Taylor and Air Force defensive end Carl Dieudonne were named co-MVPs of the game.