| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 25 | 25 | 0-0 | 121 | 0 | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 3 | 24 | 0-0 | 141 | 0 | DNP | |
| 2 | Sep 10 | 22 | 1-0 | 242 | 0 | ||
| 3 | Sep 17 | 18 | 2-0 | 404 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Sep 23 | 10 | 3-0 | 870 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Sep 30 | 10 | 4-0 | 936 | 0 | ||
| 6 | Oct 7 | 15 | 4-1 | 653 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Oct 14 | 24 | 4-2 | 138 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Oct 21 | 18 | 5-2 | 412 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Oct 28 | 18 | 6-2 | 486 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Nov 4 | 17 | 7-2 | 502 | 0 | ||
| 11 | Nov 11 | 17 | 7-2 | 516 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Nov 18 | 16 | 8-2 | 561 | 0 | ||
| 13 | Nov 25 | 16 | 9-2 | 554 | 0 | W 16-10 vs West Virginia | |
| 14 | Dec 2 | 16 | 9-2 | 591 | 0 | 16 | |
| Final | Jan 2 | 11 | 10-2 | 876 | 0 | W 24-17 vs #25 Ohio State (Hall of Fame) |
Note: Syracuse'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.