| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | CFP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 14 | 7 | 0-0 | 1177 | 0 | 7 | -- | DNP |
| 1 | Sep 5 | 7 | 1-0 | 1212 | 0 | 7 | -- | W 38-15 vs West Virginia |
| 2 | Sep 10 | 7 | 2-0 | 1204 | 0 | 7 | -- | W 63-7 vs Delaware |
| 3 | Sep 17 | 7 | 3-0 | 1217 | 0 | 7 | -- | W 30-13 at Illinois |
| 4 | Sep 24 | 6 | 4-0 | 1244 | 0 | 7 | -- | W 31-0 vs #24 Iowa |
| 5 | Oct 1 | 6 | 5-0 | 1227 | 0 | 6 | -- | W 41-13 at Northwestern |
| 6 | Oct 8 | 6 | 5-0 | 1273 | 0 | 5 | -- | DNP |
| 7 | Oct 15 | 7 | 6-0 | 1253 | 0 | 6 | -- | W 63-0 vs Massachusetts |
| 8 | Oct 22 | 10 | 6-1 | 999 | 0 | 10 | -- | L 20-12 at #3 Ohio State |
| 9 | Oct 29 | 9 | 7-1 | 1044 | 0 | 9 | 11 | W 33-24 vs Indiana |
| 10 | Nov 5 | 9 | 8-1 | 1075 | 0 | 9 | 10 | W 51-15 at Maryland |
| 11 | Nov 12 | 12 | 8-2 | 857 | 0 | 12 | 12 | L 24-15 vs #2 Michigan |
| 12 | Nov 19 | 11 | 9-2 | 894 | 0 | 11 | 11 | W 27-6 vs Rutgers |
| 13 | Nov 26 | 10 | 10-2 | 961 | 0 | 10 | 10 | W 42-0 at Michigan State |
| 14 | Dec 3 | 10 | 10-2 | 960 | 0 | 10 | 10 | DNP |
| Final | Jan 9 | 13 | 10-3 | 796 | 0 | -- | L 38-25 vs #11 Mississippi (Peach) |
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.