| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | BCS | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 11 | NR | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | -- | DNP | |
| 4 | Sep 23 | 24 | 2-0 | 184 | 0 | -- | ||
| 5 | Sep 30 | 21 | 3-0 | 321 | 0 | -- | ||
| 6 | Oct 7 | 17 | 4-0 | 509 | 0 | -- | ||
| 7 | Oct 14 | 24 | 4-1 | 222 | 0 | -- | ||
| 8 | Oct 21 | 24 | 4-1 | 235 | 0 | NR | ||
| 9 | Oct 28 | 20 | 5-1 | 428 | 0 | 14 | ||
| 10 | Nov 4 | NR | 0 | 0 | NR |
Note: Purdue'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.