| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 24 | 7 | 1-0 | 469 | 4 | ||
| 2 | Oct 1 | 18 | 1-0 | 29 | 0 | ||
| 3 | Oct 8 | NR | 0 | 0 | |||
| 4 | Oct 15 | 13 | 2-1 | 58 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Oct 22 | 14 | 3-1 | 125 | 0 | ||
| 6 | Oct 29 | 17 | 4-1 | 69 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Nov 5 | 9 | 5-1 | 225 | 1 | ||
| 8 | Nov 12 | 9 | 6-1 | 246 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Nov 19 | 8 | 7-1 | 495 | 2 | ||
| 10 | Nov 26 | 8 | 7-1 | 387 | 1 | ||
| Final | Dec 3 | 8 | 7-1 | 406 | 0 |
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.