| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | N/A | 18 | 0-0 | 218 | 0 | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 3 | 19 | 0-0 | 145 | 0 | DNP | |
| 2 | Sep 10 | 11 | 1-0 | 516 | 0 | ||
| 3 | Sep 17 | 10 | 2-0 | 610 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Sep 24 | 9 | 3-0 | 624 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Oct 1 | 9 | 4-0 | 640 | 0 | ||
| 6 | Oct 8 | 8 | 4-0 | 745 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Oct 15 | 6 | 5-0 | 902 | 1 | ||
| 8 | Oct 22 | 3 | 6-0 | 1007 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Oct 29 | 3 | 7-0 | 1025 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Nov 5 | 2 | 8-0 | 1113 | 15 | ||
| 11 | Nov 12 | 1 | 9-0 | 1143 | 44 | W 31-10 at Cincinnati | |
| 12 | Nov 19 | 1 | 10-0 | 1180 | 46 | W 36-6 vs Notre Dame | |
| 13 | Nov 26 | 1 | 11-0 | 1186 | 49 | W 31-0 at Pittsburgh | |
| 14 | Dec 3 | 1 | 11-0 | 1164 | 47 | DNP | |
| 15 | Dec 10 | 1 | 11-0 | 1086 | 45 | DNP | |
| Final | Jan 3 | 3 | 11-1 | 990 | 0 | L 25-10 vs #3 Oklahoma (Orange) |
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.