| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | N/A | 6 | 0-0 | 856 | 0 | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 10 | 5 | 1-0 | 931 | 0 | ||
| 2 | Sep 17 | 17 | 1-1 | 293 | 0 | L 31-21 at UCLA | |
| 3 | Sep 24 | 10 | 2-1 | 599 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Oct 1 | 12 | 3-1 | 648 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Oct 8 | 20 | 3-2 | 62 | 0 | L 31-14 at Minnesota | |
| 6 | Oct 15 | 16 | 4-2 | 229 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Oct 22 | 16 | 5-2 | 349 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Oct 29 | 15 | 6-2 | 301 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Nov 5 | 14 | 7-2 | 432 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Nov 12 | 12 | 8-2 | 614 | 0 | ||
| 11 | Nov 19 | 12 | 9-2 | 598 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Nov 26 | 12 | 9-2 | 544 | 0 | ||
| 13 | Dec 3 | 12 | 9-2 | 606 | 0 | ||
| Final | Jan 3 | 10 | 10-2 | 739 | 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.