| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | BCS | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Sep 25 | RV | 70 | 0 | RV | -- | ||
| 5 | Oct 2 | 16 | 5-0 | 493 | 0 | -- | ||
| 6 | Oct 9 | 8 | 6-0 | 1096 | 0 | -- | ||
| 7 | Oct 16 | 12 | 6-1 | 854 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 8 | Oct 23 | 11 | 7-1 | 980 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 9 | Oct 30 | 10 | 8-1 | 1061 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 10 | Nov 6 | 6 | 9-1 | 1271 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 11 | Nov 13 | 5 | 9-1 | 1334 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 12 | Nov 20 | 4 | 10-1 | 1390 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 13 | Nov 27 | 4 | 10-1 | 1430 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 14 | Dec 4 | 3 | 10-1 | 1483 | 0 | 3 | ||
| Final | Jan 5 | 3 | 11-1 | 1484 | 0 | -- | W 26-23 (3OT) vs #22 Florida State (Orange) |
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.