| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | N/A | 8 | 0-0 | 451 | 0 | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 9 | 8 | 0-0 | 408 | 0 | DNP | |
| 2 | Sep 16 | 8 | 1-0 | 443 | 0 | ||
| 3 | Sep 23 | 19 | 1-1 | 97 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Sep 30 | 15 | 2-1 | 168 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Oct 7 | 15 | 3-1 | 98 | 0 | ||
| 6 | Oct 14 | 11 | 4-1 | 244 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Oct 21 | 10 | 5-1 | 314 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Oct 28 | 10 | 6-1 | 336 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Nov 4 | 7 | 7-1 | 522 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Nov 11 | 11 | 7-2 | 245 | 0 | ||
| 11 | Nov 18 | 10 | 8-2 | 311 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Nov 25 | 10 | 8-2 | 362 | 0 | ||
| 13 | Dec 2 | 7 | 9-2 | 502 | 0 | ||
| Final | Jan 2 | 7 | 10-2 | 567 | 0 |
Note: Penn State'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.