| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | BCS | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 21 | RV | 0-0 | 15 | 0 | RV | -- | DNP |
| 1 | Sep 7 | RV | 1-0 | 30 | 0 | 23 | -- | W 41-2 at Toledo |
| 2 | Sep 12 | 24 | 2-0 | 138 | 0 | 18 | -- | W 52-6 vs Citadel |
| 3 | Sep 19 | 14 | 3-0 | 663 | 0 | 16 | -- | W 34-27 vs #9 Iowa |
| 4 | Sep 26 | 14 | 4-0 | 724 | 0 | 14 | -- | W 10-9 vs California |
| 5 | Oct 3 | 9 | 4-0 | 898 | 0 | 11 | -- | DNP |
| 6 | Oct 10 | 17 | 4-1 | 472 | 0 | 20 | -- | L 29-27 vs Oregon State |
| 7 | Oct 17 | 15 | 5-1 | 619 | 0 | 18 | 18 | W 24-7 at Washington State |
| 8 | Oct 24 | 15 | 6-1 | 691 | 0 | 16 | 15 | W 44-14 vs Washington |
| 9 | Oct 31 | 13 | 7-1 | 779 | 0 | 13 | 15 | W 29-21 at UCLA |
| 10 | Nov 7 | 18 | 7-2 | 481 | 0 | 19 | 18 | L 42-17 at #10 Stanford |
| 11 | Nov 14 | 23 | 7-3 | 156 | 0 | 23 | 22 | L 24-21 vs USC |
| 12 | Nov 21 | 20 | 7-3 | 268 | 0 | 20 | 21 | DNP |
| 13 | Nov 28 | RV | 7-4 | 34 | 0 | RV | 23 | DNP |
| 14 | Dec 5 | NR | 7-5 | 0 | 0 | RV | NR | L 30-29 (2OT) vs Arizona State |
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.