Ben Malcolmson, USCRipsIt

In the world of non-conference scheduling, it’s a never-ending pursuit. One school is being chased while the other’s doing the chasing. “It’s a cat-and-mouse game,” senior associate athletic director Steve Lopes said. USC’s non-conference scheduling is a duty that rests in Lopes’ hands and one that is full of intrigue, drama and some good old-fashioned flirtation. Like adolescents a few weeks before the prom, Lopes said universities communicate with each other in a variety of ways — e-mails, letters and phone calls —  in order to set up those precious non-conference matchups… continue