| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 12 | 10 | 0-0 | 982 | 0 | DNP | |
| 1 | Aug 26 | 10 | 0-0 | 1050 | 0 | DNP | |
| 2 | Sep 2 | 9 | 0-0 | 1062 | 0 | DNP | |
| 3 | Sep 9 | 23 | 0-1 | 331 | 0 | L 27-10 vs #24 North Carolina | |
| 4 | Sep 16 | 23 | 0-1 | 214 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Sep 23 | NR | 0 | 0 | |||
| 11 | Nov 4 | 24 | 5-2 | 233 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Nov 11 | 19 | 6-2 | 492 | 0 | ||
| 13 | Nov 18 | 16 | 7-2 | 713 | 0 | ||
| 14 | Nov 25 | 16 | 8-2 | 700 | 0 | ||
| 15 | Dec 2 | 22 | 8-3 | 280 | 0 | ||
| 16 | Dec 9 | 23 | 8-3 | 242 | 0 | ||
| Final | Jan 3 | 21 | 9-3 | 451 | 0 | W 30-17 vs Houston (Liberty) |
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.