| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | BCS | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 18 | 14 | 0-0 | 605 | 0 | 17 | -- | DNP |
| 1 | Sep 4 | 13 | 1-0 | 736 | 0 | 14 | -- | |
| 2 | Sep 9 | 11 | 2-0 | 910 | 0 | 11 | -- | |
| 3 | Sep 16 | RV | 41 | 0 | -- | L 44-6 at Utah | ||
| 4 | Sep 23 | RV | 27 | -- | ||||
| 5 | Sep 30 | RV | 49 | -- | ||||
| 8 | Oct 21 | RV | 77 | NR | ||||
| 9 | Oct 28 | RV | 11 | NR |
Note: UCLA'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.