| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | N/A | 18 | 0-0 | 42 | 0 | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 22 | 16 | 1-0 | 60 | 0 | ||
| 2 | Sep 29 | 8 | 2-0 | 251 | 0 | W 28-14 vs #9 Notre Dame | |
| 3 | Oct 6 | 9 | 3-0 | 268 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Oct 13 | 17 | 3-1 | 45 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Oct 20 | 15 | 4-1 | 47 | 0 | ||
| 6 | Oct 27 | 13 | 5-1 | 104 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Nov 3 | 10 | 6-1 | 194 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Nov 10 | 10 | 7-1 | 206 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Nov 17 | 17 | 7-2 | 37 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Nov 24 | 16 | 8-2 | 44 | 0 | ||
| 11 | Dec 1 | 15 | 8-2 | 51 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Dec 8 | 17 | 8-2 | 26 | 0 | ||
| Final | Jan 3 | 18 | 8-2 | 46 | 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.