| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Oct 6 | 16 | 1-0-1 | 98 | 0 | ||
| 3 | Oct 13 | 9 | 2-0-1 | 204 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Oct 22 | NR | 0 | 0 | |||
| 5 | Oct 27 | 8 | 3-1-1 | 164 | 1 | ||
| 6 | Nov 3 | 9 | 3-2-1 | 191 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Nov 10 | 10 | 3-2-2 | 109 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Nov 17 | NR | 0 | 0 | |||
| 9 | Nov 24 | 14 | 4-3-2 | 64 | 0 | ||
| Final | Dec 1 | 18 | 4-3-2 | 45 | 0 |
Note: Purdue's ranking in the final 1961 poll has been changed to unranked after the original AP wire story and poll was revisited and confirmed across several newspapers.