| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | CFP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 12 | 8 | 0-0 | 1060 | 0 | 9 | -- | DNP |
| 1 | Sep 3 | 8 | 1-0 | 1146 | 0 | 8 | -- | W 34-12 at West Virginia |
| 2 | Sep 8 | 8 | 2-0 | 1090 | 0 | 7 | -- | W 34-27 vs Bowling Green |
| 3 | Sep 15 | 10 | 2-0 | 1050 | 0 | 8 | -- | DNP |
| 4 | Sep 22 | 9 | 3-0 | 1051 | 0 | 8 | -- | W 56-0 vs Kent State |
| 5 | Sep 29 | 7 | 4-0 | 1208 | 0 | 7 | -- | W 21-7 vs #19 Illinois |
| 6 | Oct 6 | 4 | 5-0 | 1305 | 0 | 5 | -- | W 27-11 vs UCLA |
| 7 | Oct 13 | 3 | 6-0 | 1380 | 0 | 3 | -- | W 33-30 (1OT) at USC |
| 8 | Oct 20 | 3 | 6-0 | 1375 | 0 | 3 | -- | DNP |
| 9 | Oct 27 | 3 | 7-0 | 1417 | 0 | 3 | -- | W 28-13 at Wisconsin |
| 10 | Nov 3 | 6 | 7-1 | 1158 | 0 | 7 | 6 | L 20-13 vs #4 Ohio State |
| 11 | Nov 10 | 4 | 8-1 | 1274 | 0 | 5 | 4 | W 35-6 vs Washington |
| 12 | Nov 17 | 4 | 9-1 | 1319 | 0 | 4 | 4 | W 49-10 at Purdue |
| 13 | Nov 24 | 4 | 10-1 | 1301 | 0 | 4 | 4 | W 26-25 at Minnesota |
| 14 | Dec 1 | 3 | 11-1 | 1378 | 0 | 3 | 3 | W 44-7 vs Maryland |
| 15 | Dec 8 | 5 | 11-2 | 1258 | 0 | 5 | 4 | L 45-37 vs #1 Oregon (Big Ten CG) |
| Final | Jan 21 | 5 | 13-3 | 1203 | 0 | 5 | -- | L 27-24 vs #3 Notre Dame (CFP Semi/Orange) |
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.