| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | N/A | 4 | 0-0 | 972 | 3 | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 9 | 16 | 0-1 | 298 | 0 | L 38-3 at #1 Oklahoma | |
| 2 | Sep 16 | 19 | 0-1 | 169 | 0 | ||
| 3 | Sep 23 | 16 | 1-1 | 304 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Sep 30 | 15 | 2-1 | 290 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Oct 7 | NR | 0 | 0 | |||
| 6 | Oct 14 | 19 | 3-2 | 116 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Oct 21 | 17 | 4-2 | 192 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Oct 28 | 15 | 5-2 | 343 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Nov 4 | 12 | 6-2 | 500 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Nov 11 | 19 | 6-3 | 95 | 0 | ||
| 11 | Nov 18 | 18 | 6-3-1 | 160 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Nov 25 | 15 | 7-3-1 | 346 | 0 | ||
| 13 | Dec 2 | 15 | 7-3-1 | 316 | 0 | 15 | |
| Final | Jan 4 | 14 | 8-3-1 | 439 | 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.