| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | N/A | 10 | 0-0 | 331 | 0 | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 23 | 7 | 1-0 | 249 | 2 | W 26-14 at South Carolina | |
| 2 | Sep 30 | 4 | 2-0 | 629 | 8 | ||
| 3 | Oct 7 | 5 | 3-0 | 493 | 5 | ||
| 4 | Oct 14 | 5 | 4-0 | 893 | 5 | ||
| 5 | Oct 21 | 4 | 5-0 | 982 | 10 | ||
| 6 | Oct 28 | 7 | 5-0-1 | 656 | 3 | ||
| 7 | Nov 4 | 16 | 5-1-1 | 75 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Nov 11 | 11 | 5-1-2 | 153 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Nov 18 | 11 | 6-1-2 | 200 | 1 | ||
| 10 | Nov 25 | 16 | 6-2-2 | 60 | 0 | ||
| Final | Dec 2 | 16 | 6-2-2 | 101 | 0 |
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.