| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | N/A | 7 | 0-0 | 558 | 1 | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 10 | 7 | 0-0 | 571 | 1 | DNP | |
| 2 | Sep 17 | 7 | 1-0 | 588 | 1 | ||
| 3 | Sep 24 | 6 | 2-0 | 654 | 2 | ||
| 4 | Oct 1 | 7 | 3-0 | 658 | 3 | ||
| 5 | Oct 8 | 7 | 4-0 | 620 | 3 | ||
| 6 | Oct 15 | 5 | 5-0 | 657 | 4 | ||
| 7 | Oct 22 | 5 | 6-0 | 709 | 4 | ||
| 8 | Oct 29 | 6 | 7-0 | 740 | 4 | ||
| 9 | Nov 5 | 6 | 8-0 | 714 | 4 | ||
| 10 | Nov 12 | 6 | 9-0 | 648 | 1 | ||
| 11 | Nov 19 | 6 | 10-0 | 672 | 1 | ||
| 12 | Nov 26 | 6 | 11-0 | 726 | 2 | ||
| 13 | Dec 3 | 6 | 11-0 | 679 | 3 | ||
| Final | Jan 3 | 5 | 12-0 | 709 | 0 |
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.