| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | CFP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 15 | RV | 17 | 0 | RV | -- | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 6 | RV | 1 | 0 | NR | -- | L 35-31 vs Penn State | |
| 2 | Sep 11 | RV | 1 | 0 | NR | -- | W 56-0 vs Indiana State | |
| 5 | Oct 2 | RV | 2 | 0 | RV | -- | W 20-10 at #21 Minnesota | |
| 6 | Oct 9 | RV | 34 | 0 | RV | -- | W 31-29 at Maryland | |
| 7 | Oct 16 | RV | 95 | 0 | RV | -- | W 43-37 vs Nebraska | |
| 12 | Nov 20 | RV | 2 | 0 | RV | NR | W 17-9 vs Northwestern | |
| 13 | Nov 27 | RV | 24 | 0 | RV | NR | W 30-16 at Indiana | |
| 14 | Dec 4 | RV | 17 | 0 | RV | NR | L 43-22 vs #2 Michigan (Big Ten CG) | |
| Final | Jan 10 | RV | 3 | 0 | RV | -- | L 63-7 vs #16 LSU (Citrus) |
Note: Purdue'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.