| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | CFP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 20 | NR | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | RV | -- | DNP |
| 1 | Sep 4 | NR | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | RV | -- | W 34-14 vs Army |
| 2 | Sep 9 | RV | 2-0 | 10 | 0 | RV | -- | W 21-7 at Northwestern |
| 3 | Sep 16 | RV | 3-0 | 61 | 0 | RV | -- | W 40-27 at Baylor |
| 4 | Sep 23 | 22 | 4-0 | 244 | 0 | 23 | -- | W 55-13 vs North Carolina Central |
| 5 | Sep 30 | RV | 4-1 | 1 | 0 | RV | -- | L 31-14 vs Virginia Tech |
| 6 | Oct 7 | NR | 4-1 | 0 | 0 | RV | -- | DNP |
| 7 | Oct 14 | RV | 5-1 | 17 | 0 | RV | -- | W 28-14 at Georgia Tech |
| 8 | Oct 21 | NR | 5-2 | 0 | 0 | RV | -- | L 28-14 vs Virginia |
| 9 | Oct 28 | NR | 5-3 | 0 | 0 | RV | NR | L 54-45 at Pittsburgh |
| 10 | Nov 4 | RV | 6-3 | 4 | 0 | RV | NR | W 20-12 at Miami (FL) |
| 11 | Nov 11 | RV | 7-3 | 20 | 0 | RV | NR | W 42-35 vs North Carolina |
| 12 | Nov 18 | NR | 7-4 | 0 | 0 | RV | NR | L 35-6 at #2 Clemson |
| Final | Jan 8 | NR | 8-5 | 0 | 0 | RV | -- | W 56-27 vs Temple (Independence) |
Note: Duke'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.