| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | BCS | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Oct 27 | RV | 6-2 | 2 | 0 | RV | NR | W 13-10 at #16 Virginia Tech |
| 10 | Nov 3 | RV | 6-2 | 1 | 0 | RV | NR | DNP |
| 11 | Nov 10 | RV | 7-2 | 11 | 0 | NR | NR | W 38-20 vs NC State |
| 12 | Nov 17 | 25 | 8-2 | 94 | 0 | 24 | NR | W 48-30 vs #24 Miami (FL) |
| 13 | Nov 24 | 24 | 9-2 | 135 | 0 | 24 | 24 | W 28-21 at Wake Forest |
| 14 | Dec 1 | 20 | 10-2 | 348 | 0 | 20 | 20 | W 27-25 at North Carolina |
| 15 | Dec 8 | 22 | 10-3 | 201 | 0 | 21 | 24 | L 45-7 vs #1 Florida State (ACC CG) |
| Final | Jan 7 | 23 | 10-4 | 190 | 0 | 22 | -- | L 52-48 vs #20 Texas A&M (Chick-fil-A) |
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.