| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 17 | 6 | 0-0 | 1180 | 2 | DNP | |
| 1 | Aug 31 | 6 | 0-0 | 1195 | 1 | DNP | |
| 2 | Sep 7 | 6 | 1-0 | 1179 | 0 | ||
| 3 | Sep 14 | 6 | 2-0 | 1240 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Sep 21 | 12 | 2-0-1 | 904 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Sep 28 | 13 | 3-0-1 | 750 | 0 | ||
| 6 | Oct 5 | 23 | 3-1-1 | 214 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Oct 12 | 24 | 3-1-1 | 178 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Oct 19 | 23 | 4-1-1 | 207 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Oct 26 | NR | 0 | 0 |
Note: Syracuse'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.