| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | BCS | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 24 | 13 | 0-0 | 804 | 0 | -- | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 7 | 9 | 1-0 | 1131 | 0 | -- | ||
| 2 | Sep 14 | 8 | 2-0 | 1283 | 0 | -- | ||
| 3 | Sep 21 | 7 | 3-0 | 1255 | 0 | -- | ||
| 4 | Sep 28 | 7 | 3-0 | 1293 | 0 | -- | ||
| 5 | Oct 5 | 13 | 3-1 | 894 | 0 | -- | ||
| 6 | Oct 12 | 12 | 4-1 | 1011 | 0 | -- | ||
| 7 | Oct 19 | 10 | 5-1 | 1119 | 0 | -- | ||
| 8 | Oct 26 | 10 | 5-1 | 1118 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 9 | Nov 2 | 9 | 6-1 | 1208 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 10 | Nov 9 | 19 | 6-2 | 575 | 0 | 18 | ||
| 11 | Nov 16 | 16 | 7-2 | 705 | 0 | 17 | ||
| 12 | Nov 23 | 23 | 7-3 | 233 | 0 | NR | ||
| 13 | Nov 30 | 22 | 8-3 | 315 | 0 | NR | ||
| 14 | Dec 7 | 22 | 8-3 | 293 | 0 | NR | ||
| Final | Jan 5 | 17 | 9-3 | 619 | 0 | -- | W 26-14 vs Kentucky (Outback) |
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.