COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NATION : NCAA Investigates Auburn Program

The NCAA is investigating allegations that a former Auburn football player received illegal payments and other benefits from coaches and alumni.

NCAA investigators were at the school on Tuesday, a source said.

The university has launched its own probe of a newspaper report last week in which Eric Ramsey, a defensive back from 1987-90, claimed he received payments and an unsecured bank loan in violation of NCAA rules. He said he had tapes of secretly recorded conversations to support his allegations.

Army quarterback Willie McMillian tore ligaments in his right knee Saturday against Harvard that will keep him out for the season. . . . El Paso newspaper headlines proclaim: “Miner payback time has arrived.” Radio hosts urge fans to pack the Sun Bowl Saturday with revenge in mind against Earl Bruce’s Colorado State football team that beat Texas El Paso in their last two games, 52-0 and 38-20. The two years before that, UTEP beat Colorado State, 45-7 and 34-14. . . . Syracuse Coach Paul Pasqualoni saw Florida State beat the Orangemen, 41-10, in the Carrier Dome in 1989. Enough, he said. This year, Florida State will see seven players from Florida on the Orangemen’s roster Saturday in their game at Tallahassee, Fla.