| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | CFP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 23 | 13 | 0-0 | 698 | 0 | 14 | -- | DNP |
| 1 | Sep 8 | 13 | 1-0 | 833 | 0 | 13 | -- | W 34-16 vs Virginia |
| 2 | Sep 13 | 10 | 2-0 | 928 | 0 | 12 | -- | W 37-3 at UNLV |
| 3 | Sep 20 | 9 | 3-0 | 981 | 0 | 11 | -- | W 24-23 vs #19 BYU |
| 4 | Sep 27 | 7 | 4-0 | 1156 | 0 | 10 | -- | W 56-30 at #16 Arizona |
| 5 | Oct 4 | 20 | 4-1 | 415 | 0 | 20 | -- | L 38-23 vs Arizona State |
| 6 | Oct 11 | 18 | 4-1 | 487 | 0 | 18 | -- | DNP |
| 7 | Oct 18 | RV | 4-2 | 18 | 0 | RV | -- | L 56-35 at #15 Stanford |
| 8 | Oct 25 | 24 | 5-2 | 110 | 0 | 25 | -- | W 40-24 vs #20 California |
| 9 | Nov 1 | 22 | 6-2 | 190 | 0 | 22 | 23 | W 35-31 vs Colorado |
| 10 | Nov 8 | 18 | 7-2 | 403 | 0 | 18 | 19 | W 41-0 at Oregon State |
| 11 | Nov 15 | RV | 7-3 | 18 | 0 | RV | NR | L 31-27 vs Washington State |
| 12 | Nov 22 | 22 | 8-3 | 230 | 0 | 23 | 22 | W 17-9 at #18 Utah |
| 13 | Nov 29 | RV | 8-4 | 4 | 0 | RV | NR | L 40-21 at USC |
| 14 | Dec 6 | RV | 8-4 | 4 | 0 | RV | NR | DNP |
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.