| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 12 | 11 | 0-0 | 981 | 0 | DNP | |
| 1 | Aug 26 | 7 | 1-0 | 1247 | 0 | ||
| 2 | Sep 2 | 7 | 1-0 | 1266 | 0 | ||
| 3 | Sep 9 | 6 | 2-0 | 1315 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Sep 16 | 5 | 3-0 | 1369 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Sep 23 | 3 | 4-0 | 1505 | 1 | ||
| 6 | Sep 30 | 4 | 5-0 | 1459 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Oct 7 | 10 | 5-1 | 995 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Oct 14 | 10 | 6-1 | 1093 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Oct 21 | 17 | 6-2 | 570 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Oct 28 | 15 | 7-2 | 644 | 0 | ||
| 11 | Nov 4 | 14 | 8-2 | 810 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Nov 11 | 11 | 8-2 | 979 | 0 | ||
| 13 | Nov 18 | 7 | 9-2 | 1197 | 0 | ||
| 14 | Nov 25 | 8 | 10-2 | 1206 | 0 | ||
| 15 | Dec 2 | 8 | 10-2 | 1233 | 0 | ||
| 16 | Dec 9 | 7 | 10-2 | 1259 | 0 | ||
| Final | Jan 3 | 7 | 11-2 | 1293 | 0 | W 38-15 vs #20 Texas (Fiesta) |
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.