| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Sep 10 | 8 | 0-0 | 113 | 0 | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 18 | 6 | 1-0 | 170 | 3 | ||
| 2 | Sep 25 | 4 | 2-0 | 275 | 0 | ||
| 3 | Oct 2 | 3 | 3-0 | 368 | 6 | ||
| 4 | Oct 9 | 4 | 4-0 | 338 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Oct 16 | 3 | 5-0 | 325 | 0 | ||
| 6 | Oct 23 | 2 | 6-0 | 303 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Oct 30 | 2 | 6-0 | 367 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Nov 6 | 4 | 6-0-1 | 274 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Nov 13 | 1 | 7-0-1 | 419 | 19 | W 48-0 vs Washington | |
| 10 | Nov 20 | 4 | 7-1-1 | 329 | 0 | L 21-20 vs #4 USC | |
| Final | Nov 27 | NR | 0 | 0 |
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.