| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | BCS | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 18 | 16 | 0-0 | 560 | 0 | 16 | -- | DNP |
| 1 | Sep 4 | 15 | 1-0 | 659 | 0 | 16 | -- | |
| 2 | Sep 9 | 13 | 2-0 | 820 | 0 | 13 | -- | |
| 3 | Sep 16 | 11 | 3-0 | 956 | 0 | 11 | -- | |
| 4 | Sep 23 | 10 | 3-0 | 1008 | 0 | 10 | -- | |
| 5 | Sep 30 | 21 | 3-1 | 299 | 0 | 21 | -- | |
| 6 | Oct 7 | RV | 25 | 0 | -- | |||
| 7 | Oct 14 | RV | 18 | 0 | NR | |||
| 8 | Oct 21 | 25 | 5-2 | 174 | 0 | NR | NR | |
| 9 | Oct 28 | RV | 1 | 0 | NR | |||
| Final | Jan 8 | RV | 2 | -- |
Note: Rutgers' 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.