| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | N/A | 11 | 0-0 | 746 | 0 | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 5 | 12 | 0-0 | 774 | 0 | DNP | |
| 2 | Sep 12 | NR | 0 | 0 | |||
| 6 | Oct 10 | 23 | 4-1 | 82 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Oct 17 | 17 | 5-1 | 434 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Oct 24 | 14 | 5-1 | 651 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Oct 31 | 16 | 5-2 | 525 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Nov 7 | 13 | 6-2 | 744 | 0 | ||
| 11 | Nov 14 | 17 | 6-2-1 | 425 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Nov 21 | 22 | 6-3-1 | 314 | 0 | ||
| 13 | Nov 28 | 18 | 7-3-1 | 450 | 0 | ||
| 14 | Dec 5 | 18 | 7-3-1 | 466 | 0 | ||
| 15 | Dec 12 | 18 | 7-3-1 | 429 | 0 | ||
| Final | Jan 2 | 15 | 8-3-1 | 620 | 0 | W 50-39 vs #19 BYU (Holiday) |
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.