| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 21 | 9 | 0-0 | 1012 | 0 | DNP | |
| 1 | Aug 31 | 9 | 0-0 | 1007 | 0 | DNP | |
| 2 | Sep 6 | 8 | 1-0 | 1112 | 1 | ||
| 3 | Sep 13 | 6 | 2-0 | 1239 | 2 | ||
| 4 | Sep 20 | 5 | 3-0 | 1317 | 3 | ||
| 5 | Sep 27 | 4 | 4-0 | 1369 | 3 | ||
| 6 | Oct 4 | 4 | 5-0 | 1380 | 2 | ||
| 7 | Oct 11 | 3 | 5-0 | 1427 | 2 | ||
| 8 | Oct 18 | 1 | 6-0 | 1487 | 19 | W 31-24 at #5 Michigan | |
| 9 | Oct 25 | 1 | 6-0 | 1486 | 19 | DNP | |
| 10 | Nov 1 | 2 | 7-0 | 1514 | 28 | W 63-14 vs #21 Ohio State | |
| 11 | Nov 8 | 2 | 8-0 | 1507 | 22 | ||
| 12 | Nov 15 | 2 | 9-0 | 1509 | 23 | ||
| 13 | Nov 22 | 2 | 10-0 | 1507 | 22 | ||
| 14 | Nov 29 | 2 | 11-0 | 1509 | 23 | ||
| 15 | Dec 6 | 2 | 11-0 | 1511 | 24 | ||
| Final | Jan 3 | 2 | 12-0 | 1497.5 | 10.5 | W 38-20 vs #12 Oregon (Rose) |
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.