| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | BCS | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Oct 23 | RV | 5-2 | 24 | 0 | RV | NR | W 49-23 vs #11 West Virginia |
| 9 | Oct 30 | NR | 5-3 | 0 | 0 | NR | NR | L 27-10 at Louisville |
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.