| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 15 | 4 | 0-0 | 1308 | 1 | DNP | |
| 1 | Aug 29 | 4 | 0-0 | 1306 | 1 | DNP | |
| 2 | Sep 5 | 4 | 0-0 | 1298 | 1 | DNP | |
| 3 | Sep 12 | 7 | 1-0 | 1155 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Sep 19 | 6 | 2-0 | 1218 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Sep 26 | 6 | 3-0 | 1247 | 0 | ||
| 6 | Oct 3 | 12 | 3-1 | 801 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Oct 10 | 20 | 3-2 | 447 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Oct 17 | 19 | 4-2 | 448 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Oct 24 | 16 | 5-2 | 636 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Oct 31 | 12 | 6-2 | 828 | 0 | ||
| 11 | Nov 7 | 19 | 6-3 | 442 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Nov 14 | 19 | 6-3 | 438 | 0 | ||
| 13 | Nov 21 | 14 | 7-3 | 729 | 0 | ||
| 14 | Nov 28 | 15 | 8-3 | 721 | 0 | ||
| 15 | Dec 5 | 15 | 8-3 | 733 | 0 | ||
| Final | Jan 3 | 13 | 9-3 | 867 | 0 | W 43-14 vs #16 Auburn (Outback) |
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.