| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | BCS | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 20 | RV | 0-0 | 75 | 0 | 25 | -- | DNP |
| 1 | Sep 6 | 23 | 1-0 | 147 | 0 | 20 | -- | W 41-7 vs Indiana State |
| 2 | Sep 11 | RV | 1-1 | 18 | 0 | RV | -- | L 27-11 vs #3 Alabama |
| 3 | Sep 18 | NR | 2-1 | 0 | 0 | RV | -- | W 14-10 at Temple |
| 4 | Sep 25 | RV | 3-1 | 9 | 0 | RV | -- | W 34-6 vs Eastern Michigan |
| 5 | Oct 2 | RV | 4-1 | 9 | 0 | RV | -- | W 16-10 at Indiana |
| 6 | Oct 9 | RV | 5-1 | 22 | 0 | 25 | -- | W 13-3 vs Iowa |
| 7 | Oct 16 | RV | 6-1 | 130 | 0 | 22 | 21 | W 23-18 vs Purdue |
| 8 | Oct 23 | 21 | 7-1 | 312 | 0 | 19 | 19 | W 34-24 at Northwestern |
| 9 | Oct 30 | 16 | 8-1 | 553 | 0 | 15 | 16 | W 10-7 vs Illinois |
| 10 | Nov 6 | 12 | 8-1 | 725 | 0 | 12 | 12 | DNP |
| 11 | Nov 13 | 21 | 8-2 | 320 | 0 | 21 | 21 | L 17-14 vs #19 Nebraska |
| 12 | Nov 20 | 20 | 9-2 | 398 | 0 | 19 | 19 | W 20-14 at Ohio State |
| 13 | Nov 27 | 23 | 9-3 | 151 | 0 | 22 | 21 | L 45-7 at #15 Wisconsin |
| 14 | Dec 4 | 24 | 9-3 | 129 | 0 | 23 | 22 | DNP |
| Final | Jan 10 | RV | 9-4 | 2 | 0 | RV | -- | L 30-14 vs #20 Houston (TicketCity) |
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.