| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | BCS | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 22 | RV | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | NR | -- | DNP |
| 1 | Sep 8 | 25 | 1-0 | 126 | 0 | NR | -- | W 37-9 vs Illinois |
| 2 | Sep 13 | RV | 2-0 | 93 | 0 | 25 | -- | W 27-20 vs Bowling Green |
| 3 | Sep 20 | RV | 3-0 | 115 | 0 | 21 | -- | |
| 4 | Sep 27 | RV | 175 | 0 | NR | -- | ||
| 5 | Oct 4 | 24 | 4-0 | 215 | 0 | 18 | -- | DNP |
| 6 | Oct 11 | RV | 4-1 | 25 | 0 | 24 | -- | L 27-12 vs #21 Nebraska |
| 7 | Oct 18 | RV | 4 | 0 | NR | |||
| 12 | Nov 22 | NR | 7-4 | 0 | 0 | RV | NR | W 34-24 vs Iowa State |
| 13 | Nov 29 | RV | 8-4 | 2 | 0 | RV | NR | W 41-39 vs Kansas |
| 14 | Dec 6 | RV | 8-4 | 4 | 0 | RV | NR | DNP |
Note: Missouri'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.