| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Sep 8 | 8 | 0-0 | 198 | 0 | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 16 | 10 | 0-0 | 148 | 0 | DNP | |
| 2 | Sep 23 | 4 | 1-0 | 494 | 1 | ||
| 3 | Sep 30 | 3 | 2-0 | 568 | 1 | ||
| 4 | Oct 7 | 3 | 3-0 | 492 | 1 | ||
| 5 | Oct 14 | 3 | 4-0 | 606 | 3 | ||
| 6 | Oct 21 | 4 | 4-0 | 580 | 1 | ||
| 7 | Oct 28 | 4 | 5-0 | 592 | 1 | ||
| 8 | Nov 4 | 4 | 6-0 | 558 | 1 | ||
| 9 | Nov 11 | 3 | 7-0 | 744 | 1 | ||
| 10 | Nov 18 | 3 | 8-0 | 571 | 2 | ||
| 11 | Nov 25 | 3 | 9-0 | 773 | 3 | ||
| 12 | Dec 2 | 3 | 9-0 | 618 | 3 | ||
| Final | Jan 4 | 2 | 11-0 | 782 | 2 |
Note: Penn State'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.