The 1982 Hall of Fame Classic Bowl, part of the 1982 bowl game season, was the sixth annual contest and took place on December 31, 1982, at Legion Field

Legion Field

Legion Field is a large stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but is occasionally used for other large outdoor events. The stadium is named in honor of the American Legion, a U.S. organization of military veterans. At its peak...

 in Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

, Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

. The competing teams were the , representing the Southeastern Conference

Southeastern Conference

The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...

 (SEC), and the , representing the Western Athletic Conference

Western Athletic Conference

The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...

 (WAC). Down 28–17 entering the fourth quarter, 19 unanswered points gave Air Force the 36–28 come-from-behind victory.

Air Force

The 1982 squad finished the regular season 7–5. The Falcons lost to , Texas Tech, , and . They accepted an invitation to play in the Hall of Fame Classic Bowl against Vanderbilt following their upset victory over Notre Dame November 21. The appearance was the fourth overall bowl appearance and the first in the Hall of Fame Classic Bowl for Air Force. Stanford was the original selection, but became ineligible for bowl participation following their loss .

Vanderbilt

The 1982 Vanderbilt squad finished the regular season 8–3. The Commodores lost to , Alabama and Georgia. They accepted an invitation to play in the Hall of Fame Classic Bowl following their 27–16 victory over November 20. The appearance was the third overall bowl appearance and the first in the Hall of Fame Classic Bowl for Vanderbilt.

Game summary

Vanderbilt got on the scoreboard first after Whit Taylor

Whit Taylor

Whit Taylor , an assistant principal and athletic director at a Tennessee high school, is most widely known for his college and professional football careers. He was an all-Southeastern Conference quarterback for the Vanderbilt from 1979–1982, a period which included a trip to the 1982 Hall of Fame...

 threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Norman Jordan to give the Commodores a 7–0 lead. Air Force responded with a one-yard Marty Louthan touchdown later in the first and then on a 19-yard Mike Brown run early in the second to take a 14–7 lead. The Commodores then scored a pair of second quarter touchdown passes by Taylor to take a 21–14 halftime lead. 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. In the fourth, Air Force scored 19 unanswered points on a trio of touchdown runs to secure the 36–28 victory. For their performances, Vanderbilt quarterback Whit Taylor and Air Force defensive end Carl Dieudonne were named co-MVPs of the game.