| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Sep 8 | 1 | 0-0 | 567 | 14 | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 16 | 1 | 0-0 | 584 | 14 | DNP | |
| 2 | Sep 23 | 1 | 1-0 | 888 | 25 | W 44-6 vs Virginia | |
| 3 | Sep 30 | 1 | 2-0 | 894 | 42 | W 37-22 at #2 Notre Dame | |
| 4 | Oct 7 | 1 | 3-0 | 736 | 35 | W 43-6 at Northwestern | |
| 5 | Oct 14 | 5 | 3-1 | 452 | 0 | L 13-0 at #4 Ohio State | |
| 6 | Oct 21 | 7 | 4-1 | 410 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Oct 28 | 6 | 5-1 | 420 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Nov 4 | 6 | 6-1 | 415 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Nov 11 | 15 | 6-2 | 111 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Nov 18 | 12 | 7-2 | 118 | 0 | ||
| 11 | Nov 25 | 12 | 8-2 | 210 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Dec 2 | 11 | 8-2 | 173 | 0 | ||
| Final | Jan 4 | 10 | 8-2 | 263 | 0 |
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.