| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 11 | 17 | 0-0 | 585 | 0 | DNP | |
| 1 | Aug 25 | 13 | 1-0 | 869 | 0 | ||
| 2 | Sep 2 | NR | 0 | 0 | |||
| 11 | Nov 3 | 22 | 6-3 | 286 | 0 | W 40-10 vs #17 West Virginia | |
| 12 | Nov 10 | 21 | 7-3 | 372 | 0 | ||
| 13 | Nov 17 | 18 | 8-3 | 506 | 0 | ||
| 14 | Nov 24 | 16 | 8-3 | 648 | 0 | ||
| 15 | Dec 1 | 15 | 9-3 | 726 | 0 | ||
| 16 | Dec 8 | 14 | 9-3 | 778 | 0 | ||
| Final | Jan 3 | 21 | 9-4 | 331 | 0 | L 35-18 vs #10 Kansas State (Fiesta) |
Note: Syracuse'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.