| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | BCS | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 24 | 17 | 0-0 | 608 | 0 | -- | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 7 | 19 | 0-1 | 470 | 0 | -- | ||
| 2 | Sep 14 | 13 | 1-1 | 874 | 0 | -- | ||
| 3 | Sep 21 | 12 | 2-1 | 981 | 0 | -- | ||
| 4 | Sep 28 | 11 | 2-1 | 1050 | 0 | -- | ||
| 5 | Oct 5 | 24 | 2-2 | 169 | 0 | -- | L 38-17 at NC State | |
| 6 | Oct 12 | 23 | 3-2 | 187 | 0 | -- | ||
| 7 | Oct 19 | 21 | 4-2 | 286 | 0 | -- | ||
| 8 | Oct 26 | 17 | 4-2 | 476 | 0 | 20 | ||
| 9 | Nov 2 | 15 | 5-2 | 608 | 0 | 17 | ||
| 10 | Nov 9 | NR | 0 | 0 | NR | |||
| 11 | Nov 16 | 24 | 6-3 | 140 | 0 | NR | ||
| 12 | Nov 23 | 21 | 7-3 | 297 | 0 | NR | ||
| 13 | Nov 30 | 18 | 8-3 | 576 | 0 | 15 | ||
| 14 | Dec 7 | 18 | 8-3 | 610 | 0 | 15 | ||
| Final | Jan 5 | 25 | 8-4 | 161 | 0 | -- | L 31-10 vs #7 Florida (Orange) |
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.