| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Oct 11 | 25 | 5-0 | 110 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Oct 18 | 20 | 6-0 | 316 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Oct 25 | 16 | 7-0 | 564 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Nov 1 | 23 | 7-1 | 270 | 0 | ||
| 11 | Nov 8 | 18 | 8-1 | 614 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Nov 15 | 24 | 8-2 | 204 | 0 | ||
| 13 | Nov 22 | NR | 0 | 0 | |||
| 14 | Nov 29 | 25 | 8-3 | 95 | 0 | ||
| 15 | Dec 6 | 25 | 8-3 | 99 | 0 | ||
| Final | Jan 3 | NR | 0 | 0 | L 34-20 vs Wisconsin (Hall of Fame) |
Note: Duke'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.