| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | BCS | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 15 | 23 | 0-0 | 370 | 0 | -- | DNP | |
| 1 | Aug 30 | 22 | 0-0 | 385 | 0 | -- | DNP | |
| 2 | Sep 6 | 20 | 1-0 | 510 | 0 | -- | ||
| 3 | Sep 12 | 14 | 2-0 | 764 | 0 | -- | ||
| 4 | Sep 19 | 13 | 3-0 | 927 | 0 | -- | ||
| 5 | Sep 26 | 11 | 4-0 | 1050 | 0 | -- | ||
| 6 | Oct 3 | 17 | 4-1 | 649 | 0 | -- | ||
| 7 | Oct 10 | 20 | 4-2 | 366 | 0 | -- | ||
| 8 | Oct 17 | 16 | 5-2 | 754 | 0 | -- | ||
| 9 | Oct 24 | 18 | 5-3 | 511 | 0 | NR | ||
| 10 | Oct 31 | 17 | 6-3 | 602 | 0 | NR | ||
| 11 | Nov 7 | 22 | 6-4 | 288 | 0 | NR | ||
| 12 | Nov 14 | 19 | 6-4 | 357 | 0 | NR | ||
| 13 | Nov 21 | 19 | 7-4 | 452 | 0 | NR | ||
| 14 | Nov 28 | 19 | 7-4 | 485 | 0 | NR | ||
| 15 | Dec 5 | 19 | 7-4 | 504 | 0 | NR | ||
| Final | Jan 5 | 25 | 7-5 | 198 | 0 | -- | L 28-25 (1OT) vs #21 Georgia (Outback) |
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.