| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | CFP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Sep 16 | RV | 3-0 | 2 | 0 | RV | -- | W 30-7 vs Florida State |
| 4 | Sep 23 | RV | 4-0 | 25 | 0 | RV | -- | W 51-21 vs Connecticut |
| 5 | Sep 30 | RV | 4-1 | 74 | 0 | RV | -- | L 27-23 at #3 Clemson |
| 6 | Oct 7 | NR | 4-2 | 0 | 0 | NR | -- | L 44-37 (1OT) at Pittsburgh |
| 8 | Oct 21 | NR | 5-2 | 0 | 0 | RV | -- | W 40-37 (2OT) vs North Carolina |
| 9 | Oct 28 | 22 | 6-2 | 192 | 0 | 24 | 19 | W 51-41 vs #22 NC State |
| 10 | Nov 4 | 13 | 7-2 | 624 | 0 | 13 | 13 | W 41-24 at Wake Forest |
| 11 | Nov 11 | 12 | 8-2 | 787 | 0 | 12 | 12 | W 54-23 vs Louisville |
| 12 | Nov 18 | 19 | 8-3 | 427 | 0 | 19 | 20 | L 36-6 vs #3 Notre Dame |
| 13 | Nov 25 | 18 | 9-3 | 475 | 0 | 18 | 20 | W 42-21 at Boston College |
| 14 | Dec 2 | 17 | 9-3 | 516 | 0 | 17 | 20 | DNP |
| Final | Jan 8 | 15 | 10-3 | 683 | 0 | 15 | -- | W 34-18 vs #15 West Virginia (Camping World) |
Note: Syracuse'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.