well as the still-standing invitation to play them from Coach Henderson. While the creation of the series was contradictory to Notre Dame's efforts to follow the Big Ten in combating commercialism (the Big Ten had a 26-year Bowl ban, which Notre Dame followed even longer), Rockne and other administrators justified the game since it was created as a home-and-home series, only to be played in Los Angeles every other year. The creation of the series was also likely influenced by the hiring of Howard Jones, who knew Rockne from coaching against him at Iowa. To the priests who ran Notre Dame, playing USC in Los Angeles every other year was preferable to making further trips to the Rose Bowl game. Notre Dame would not play in another bowl game until the 1970 Cotton Bowl. Knute Rockne–Howard Jones connection Another factor in the creation of the series is the connection between both schools' coaches, Knute Rockne and Howard Jones. Following Notre Dame's 1924 championship season, Rockne was approached by USC to take over its football program. Rockne would often entertain such advances and let the news slip out to the Notre Dame administration in order to get a raise and bolster his position internally and nationally. While Rockne ultimately turned down the offer, he recommended that USC look at his friend Howard Jones, whom he knew from taking his Notre Dame teams to play Iowa. Barry LeBrock, author of The Trojan Ten, also confirms that Rockne lent the Trojans a helping hand in recommending that they consider hiring Iowa's coach Howard Jones, after USC fired "Gloomy Gus" Henderson. The creation of the series was likely influenced by their friendship, and by Jones' desire to take USC to Notre Dame's elite level. The early years: 1926–1940s Notre Dame and USC played their first game in 1926, a 13–12 win for the Irish. Rockne was quoted as saying it was the greatest game he ever saw. The following year, Notre Dame and USC would play a memorable game at Soldier Field in Chicago, a slim 7–6 Irish victory. An estimated 120,000 people were in attendance, a crowd that is considered to be one of the largest attended games in NCAA history. USC's first win in the series also came during the same year they won their first national title in 1928. From 1928 to 1932, USC and Notre Dame combined to win the