| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | CFP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 14 | RV | 4 | 0 | RV | -- | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 5 | 21 | 1-0 | 343 | 0 | 24 | -- | W 28-7 vs #9 Clemson |
| 2 | Sep 10 | 21 | 2-0 | 421 | 0 | 20 | -- | W 42-7 vs Lafayette |
| 3 | Sep 17 | 18 | 3-0 | 530 | 0 | 18 | -- | W 38-14 vs Northwestern |
| 4 | Sep 24 | 17 | 4-0 | 648 | 0 | 16 | -- | W 41-7 at Connecticut |
| 5 | Oct 1 | 19 | 4-1 | 384 | 0 | 21 | -- | L 21-14 vs #11 Notre Dame |
| 6 | Oct 8 | 17 | 4-1 | 479 | 0 | 18 | -- | DNP |
| 7 | Oct 15 | 16 | 5-1 | 593 | 0 | 17 | -- | W 24-3 vs NC State |
| 8 | Oct 22 | 20 | 5-2 | 371 | 0 | 21 | -- | L 38-20 at #4 Florida State |
| 9 | Oct 29 | NR | 0 | 0 | RV | NR | L 23-0 at #18 Louisville | |
| 10 | Nov 5 | RV | 4 | 0 | RV | NR | W 24-21 vs Wake Forest | |
| Final | Jan 9 | RV | 6 | 0 | -- | W 17-10 vs Troy (Birmingham) |
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.