| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 25 | 7 | 0-0 | 1064 | 0 | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 3 | 5 | 1-0 | 1225 | 0 | ||
| 2 | Sep 10 | 5 | 2-0 | 1285 | 0 | ||
| 3 | Sep 17 | 12 | 2-1 | 715 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Sep 23 | 10 | 3-1 | 870 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Sep 30 | 12 | 4-1 | 870 | 0 | ||
| 6 | Oct 7 | 9 | 5-1 | 991 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Oct 14 | 10 | 5-2 | 883 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Oct 21 | 8 | 6-2 | 1010 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Oct 28 | 8 | 7-2 | 1046 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Nov 4 | 9 | 7-2 | 1004 | 0 | ||
| 11 | Nov 11 | 8 | 8-2 | 1044 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Nov 18 | 7 | 9-2 | 1111 | 0 | ||
| 13 | Nov 25 | 6 | 9-2 | 1159 | 0 | DNP | |
| 14 | Dec 2 | 6 | 10-2 | 1177 | 0 | 5 | |
| Final | Jan 2 | 3 | 11-2 | 1342 | 0 | W 42-17 vs #10 Tennessee (Fiesta) |
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.