Notre Dame offensive coordinator Michael Haywood will meet with UW regarding its head coaching position, according to a report at Rivals.com.

(The report has now been confirmed by the Chicago Tribune and other media that cover Notre Dame.)

Citing unnamed sources, the report said Haywood was excused from his Notre Dame duties Wednesday and was on his way to Seattle.

Haywood was on the Louisiana State staff from 1995-2002, coinciding with Emmert and Woodward’s time at LSU.

The report follows a recent and ongoing controversy in South Bend, where coach Charlie Weis has announced that he will handle the offensive play-calling for the remainder of the season.

Here is a statement from Weis that addresses both the play-calling issue and Haywood's absence from practice this week:

Weis: As far as play calling goes. This week, Mike Haywood is going to be missing some practice for personal reasons. I support these personal reasons. But he'll be missing some practice again. And with that being said, followed up by a short week next week for the rest of the regular season I will be handling the play calling on offense.

1 USC (1) 9-1, 7-1. Belated and modest payback against Stanford.
2 Oregon State (2) 7-3, 6-1. Only UA and UO stand between Beavers and Rose Bowl.
3 Oregon (5) 6-4, 5-2. QB Masoli, with 387 total yards, is Pac-10 player of week for second time.
4 California (4) 6-4, 4-3. Only 11 first downs vs. Beavers.
5 Arizona (3) 6-4, 4-4. Lost two of last three, but bowl-bound for first time since 1998.
6 Arizona State (7) 4-6, 3-4. Can go bowling if they beat Bruins and Wildcats.
7 Stanford (6) 5-6, 4-4. Most yards (367) of any USC opponent this season.
8 UCLA (8) 4-6, 3-4. Forced season-high five turnovers vs. Huskies.
9 Washington (9) 0-10, 0-7. If only they could find an opponent with similar problems…
10 Washington State (10) 1-10, 0-8. If only they could find an opponent with similar problems…

The EA SPORTS Maui Invitational today announced that the University of Washington will be among the eight-team field that will battle at Maui's famed Lahaina Civic Center during Thanksgiving Week in 2010.

The other schools will be Connecticut, Kentucky, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Virginia, Wichita State and host Chaminade University of Honolulu.

More information is available at GoHuskies.com.

Brandon Johnson has left the team for a couple of days to deal with a death in the family.

Coach Tyrone Willingham indicated that a player missing the heavy workout days of Tuesday and Wednesday might not be able to start the Apple Cup on Saturday. However, as of now, he doesn't know who might start in Johnson's place.

The top candidates would seem to be Terrance Dailey or Willie Griffin.

Willingham also said cornerback Matt Mosley has a partially torn knee ligament. However, it is not believed that surgery will be necessary.

UW president Mark Emmert has appointed a search advisory committee to assist in the UW's search for a new head football coach.

Among the appointees is sophomore quarterback Jake Locker.

The committee is chaired by Pat Dobel, a professor of public affairs who also serves as the UW's faculty athletic representative to the Pacific-10 Conference. The committee will report to Emmert and Athletic Director Scott Woodward.

Here's a link to the complete release from GoHuskies.com.

Meanwhile, the list of possible candidates seems to have lost one possible name with the news that Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has officially been named next in line for the top job there.

The Huskies' season-ending football game at California game has been selected for national telecast on FSN and will kickoff at noon Dec. 6.

The game, of course, will not only end the season, but the Tyrone Willingham era at Washington.

The game will be played after a bye week following this weekend's Apple Cup.

And speaking of that game, several good notes and reports from Eric Williams' UW football coverage and Ryan Divish's WSU coverage in today's paper.

Meanwhile, I'm back on football today and should have some notes and quotes to pass along this afternoon.