Dame – #1 undefeated Notre Dame beat #2 undefeated USC in the Coliseum en route to the national title in 1988. The Irish also spoiled Trojan title campaigns by giving them their first loss in the last game of the season in 1947 and 1952, as well as handing them a first loss in 1927, 1973 and 1995. They also tied #1 ranked USC in 1968, 21–21, knocking them down to #2 behind Ohio State (who then beat USC in a 1 vs. 2 matchup in the Rose Bowl). The Irish tied the Trojans again in 1969, 14–14, the only blemish in USC's 10–0–1 season. USC – Spoiled legitimate Irish title hopes in 1938, 1964, 1970, 1980, and tied them in 1948 (after Michigan already had been voted #1 by the AP Poll). Each game came in the final week of the season. USC also spoiled Irish campaigns in 1931 and 1971. Although the game is played in Los Angeles in even numbered years, it is not part of Fox's Pac-12 Conference football package. Instead, the game, like most of Notre Dame's away games, is broadcast on ABC through ESPN on ABC. In odd-numbered years, when the game is played in South Bend, it is broadcast on NBC as part of its coverage of Notre Dame's home schedule. Series history Origins Conversation between wives The origin of the series is quite often recounted as a "conversation between wives" of Notre Dame head coach Knute Rockne and USC athletic director Gywnn Wilson. In fact, many sports writers often cite this popular story as the main reason the two schools decided to play one another. As the story goes, the rivalry began with USC looking for a national rival. USC dispatched Wilson and his wife to Lincoln, Nebraska, where Notre Dame was playing Nebraska on Thanksgiving Day. On that day (Nebraska 17, Notre Dame 0) Knute Rockne resisted the idea of a home-and-home series with USC because of the travel involved, but Mrs. Wilson was able to persuade Mrs. Rockne that a trip every two years to sunny Southern California was better than one to snowy, hostile Nebraska. Mrs. Rockne spoke to her husband and on December 4, 1926, USC became an annual fixture on Notre Dame's schedule. Another tale While the "wives story" remains the classic explanation for starting the series, college football historian Murray Sperber, who in researching his book