The 1982 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1982 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals, led by first–year head coachDennis Erickson, were members of the Big Sky Conference and played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho. Led by junior quarterback Ken Hobart, the Vandals finished in the regular season and in the Big Sky in a three-way tie for first, and qualified for the post-season for the first time in school history. Idaho defeated rivalBoise State for the first time in the first of twelve straight over the Broncos. The Vandals also defeated Idaho State, the defending conference and national champions; the consecutive intrastate games were both on Idaho rebounded from the previous season, in which they were preseason favorites, but finished overall and winless in conference play under fourth-year head coach Jerry Davitch. The 1981 team lost their final six games, finishing with a fifth consecutive loss to Boise State. The Vandals won all six home games in 1982 and finished at overall. The nine victories were the most in school history, later surpassed only by the 1988 and 1993 teams, both of which won 11 games and reached the
After recent Big Sky domination by Boise State, Idaho State and Nevada, the 1982 season finished with three other teams at the top Idaho, Montana, and Montana State. After Idaho finished the regular season with a conference loss at Reno, Montana was declared the conference champion as it defeated the other two. Montana and Idaho were both selected for the first time to participate in the Division I-AA playoffs, newly expanded to 12 teams for the fifth season of I-AA. Although the Grizzlies were the conference champions due to their 40–16 win over Idaho in Missoula in mid-October, the Vandals were chosen by the NCAA to host the late November game, primarily due to their indoor Idaho won the rematch played before a sparse afternoon crowd in Moscow two days after Thanksgiving, and advanced to the quarterfinals on the road against eventual champion EKU was a I-AA finalist the previous three seasons; they won the title in 1979, but lost to Big Sky champions Boise State in 1980 and Idaho State in 1981. Down by a large margin early, Idaho mounted a comeback and nearly became the third team from the state to defeat EKU in the playoffs in as many years. The Vandals were well into EKU territory with 31 seconds remaining, but came up 8 points short after a
Quarterback Ken Hobart, tight end Kurt Vestman, wide receiver Vic Wallace, and linebacker Sam Merriman were named to the Big Sky all-conference Hobart was the league's outstanding offensive player. Vandals named to the second team were wide receiver Ron Whittenburg, nose guard Paul Griffin, linebacker John Fortner, and safety Boyce Bailey.
