| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | CFP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 23 | NR | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | RV | -- | DNP |
| 1 | Sep 8 | NR | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | RV | -- | W 37-7 at Tulane |
| 2 | Sep 13 | RV | 2-0 | 1 | 0 | RV | -- | W 55-0 vs North Carolina Central |
| 4 | Sep 27 | RV | 3-1 | 18 | 0 | RV | -- | W 34-20 vs #20 Georgia Tech |
| 5 | Oct 4 | RV | 4-1 | 31 | 0 | RV | -- | W 9-7 vs Boston College |
| 6 | Oct 11 | 25 | 5-1 | 114 | 0 | 24 | -- | W 44-3 at Army |
| 7 | Oct 18 | 23 | 5-1 | 211 | 0 | 21 | -- | DNP |
| 8 | Oct 25 | 22 | 6-1 | 274 | 0 | 18 | -- | W 45-43 (4OT) at Virginia Tech |
| 9 | Nov 1 | RV | 6-2 | 7 | 0 | RV | NR | L 30-27 vs Miami (FL) |
| Final | Jan 12 | RV | 8-5 | 3 | 0 | RV | -- | W 44-41 (1OT) vs Indiana (Pinstripe) |
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.