| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | BCS | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 18 | RV | 4 | -- | ||||
| 1 | Sep 5 | RV | 9 | -- | ||||
| 2 | Sep 10 | RV | 1 | -- | ||||
| 3 | Sep 17 | RV | 2 | -- | ||||
| 4 | Sep 24 | RV | 34 | -- | ||||
| 7 | Oct 15 | RV | 1 | NR |
Note: Purdue'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.