| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | BCS | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 15 | 4 | 0-0 | 1537 | 1 | -- | DNP | |
| 1 | Aug 30 | 15 | 0-1 | 656 | 0 | -- | L 41-7 at Penn State (Pigskin Classic) | |
| 2 | Sep 6 | 19 | 1-1 | 517 | 0 | -- | W 35-31 at TCU | |
| 3 | Sep 12 | 19 | 2-1 | 452 | 0 | -- | W 34-19 vs Middle Tennessee | |
| 4 | Sep 19 | NR | 0 | 0 | -- | L 50-22 vs Stanford | ||
| 5 | Sep 26 | RV | 9 | 0 | -- |
Note: Arizona'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.