| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | CFP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 17 | RV | 0-0 | 71 | 0 | RV | -- | DNP |
| 1 | Sep 2 | RV | 1-0 | 60 | 0 | RV | -- | W 52-13 vs Elon |
| 2 | Sep 7 | RV | 2-0 | 43 | 0 | RV | -- | W 34-17 at Troy |
| 3 | Sep 14 | RV | 3-0 | 55 | 0 | RV | -- | W 41-3 vs Kansas |
| 4 | Sep 21 | RV | 4-0 | 86 | 0 | 23 | -- | W 47-13 vs Tulane |
| 5 | Sep 28 | NR | 4-1 | 0 | 0 | RV | -- | L 22-10 at Miami (FL) |
| 6 | Oct 5 | NR | 4-1 | 0 | 0 | RV | -- | DNP |
| 7 | Oct 12 | RV | 5-1 | 45 | 0 | RV | -- | W 31-25 at #22 Georgia Tech |
| 8 | Oct 19 | RV | 6-1 | 108 | 0 | RV | -- | W 20-13 vs Virginia |
| 9 | Oct 26 | 24 | 6-1 | 121 | 0 | 24 | 24 | DNP |
| 10 | Nov 2 | 22 | 7-1 | 288 | 0 | 20 | 22 | W 51-48 (2OT) at Pittsburgh |
| 11 | Nov 9 | 19 | 8-1 | 431 | 0 | 19 | 21 | W 27-10 at Syracuse |
| 12 | Nov 16 | 25 | 8-2 | 85 | 0 | 25 | NR | L 17-16 vs Virginia Tech |
| 13 | Nov 23 | RV | 8-3 | 9 | 0 | RV | NR | L 45-20 vs North Carolina |
| 14 | Nov 30 | RV | 9-3 | 22 | 0 | RV | NR | W 41-21 vs Wake Forest |
| 15 | Dec 7 | RV | 9-3 | 32 | 0 | RV | NR | DNP |
| Final | Jan 13 | RV | 9-4 | 18 | 0 | RV | -- | L 36-31 vs #15 Arizona State (Sun) |
Note: Duke'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.