| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | BCS | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 22 | 9 | 0-0 | 989 | 0 | 8 | -- | DNP |
| 1 | Sep 8 | 7 | 1-0 | 1082 | 0 | 5 | -- | W 31-7 vs Akron |
| 2 | Sep 13 | 5 | 2-0 | 1145 | 0 | 5 | -- | W 28-7 vs Syracuse |
| 3 | Sep 20 | 5 | 3-0 | 1212 | 0 | 4 | -- | W 31-6 vs Temple |
| 4 | Sep 27 | 15 | 3-1 | 470 | 0 | 13 | -- | L 21-10 vs Iowa |
| 5 | Oct 4 | 14 | 4-1 | 564 | 0 | 12 | -- | W 35-17 at Illinois |
| 6 | Oct 11 | 14 | 5-1 | 597 | 0 | 13 | -- | W 52-3 vs Eastern Illinois |
| 7 | Oct 18 | 13 | 6-1 | 753 | 0 | 11 | 13 | W 20-0 vs Minnesota |
| 8 | Oct 25 | 12 | 7-1 | 843 | 0 | 10 | 12 | W 35-10 at Michigan |
| 9 | Nov 1 | 11 | 8-1 | 886 | 0 | 10 | 11 | W 34-13 at Northwestern |
| 10 | Nov 8 | 19 | 8-2 | 467 | 0 | 17 | 18 | L 24-7 vs #15 Ohio State |
| 11 | Nov 15 | 13 | 9-2 | 689 | 0 | 12 | 14 | W 31-20 vs Indiana |
| 12 | Nov 22 | 12 | 10-2 | 773 | 0 | 11 | 13 | W 42-14 at Michigan State |
| 13 | Nov 29 | 10 | 10-2 | 897 | 0 | 9 | 11 | DNP |
| 14 | Dec 6 | 11 | 10-2 | 883 | 0 | 9 | 13 | DNP |
| Final | Jan 8 | 9 | 11-2 | 1016 | 0 | 8 | -- | W 19-17 vs #13 LSU (Capital One) |
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.