| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | BCS | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 16 | 6 | 0-0 | 1266 | 0 | 7 | -- | DNP |
| 1 | Sep 2 | 6 | 1-0 | 1301 | 1 | 7 | -- | W 52-42 vs #20 Illinois |
| 2 | Sep 7 | 6 | 2-0 | 1336 | 1 | 6 | -- | W 52-3 vs Southeast Missouri State |
| 3 | Sep 14 | 5 | 3-0 | 1389 | 0 | 5 | -- | W 69-17 vs Nevada |
| 4 | Sep 21 | 6 | 4-0 | 1360 | 0 | 5 | -- | W 42-21 vs Buffalo |
| 5 | Sep 28 | 4 | 4-0 | 1453 | 1 | 3 | -- | DNP |
| 6 | Oct 5 | 3 | 5-0 | 1487 | 1 | 2 | -- | W 52-17 at Nebraska |
| 7 | Oct 12 | 11 | 5-1 | 984 | 0 | 12 | -- | L 28-23 vs #17 Oklahoma State |
| 8 | Oct 19 | 16 | 5-2 | 568 | 0 | 16 | 15 | L 56-31 at #1 Texas |
| 9 | Oct 26 | 14 | 6-2 | 791 | 0 | 14 | 14 | W 58-0 vs Colorado |
| 10 | Nov 2 | 13 | 7-2 | 830 | 0 | 13 | 14 | W 31-28 at Baylor |
| 11 | Nov 9 | 12 | 8-2 | 913 | 0 | 11 | 12 | W 41-24 vs Kansas State |
| 12 | Nov 16 | 12 | 9-2 | 913 | 0 | 11 | 13 | W 52-20 at Iowa State |
| 13 | Nov 23 | 12 | 9-2 | 917 | 0 | 11 | 13 | DNP |
| 14 | Nov 30 | 19 | 9-3 | 479 | 0 | 17 | 20 | L 40-37 vs Kansas |
| 15 | Dec 7 | 25 | 9-4 | 150 | 0 | 23 | 21 | L 62-21 vs #4 Oklahoma (Big 12 CG) |
| Final | Jan 9 | 19 | 10-4 | 435 | 0 | 16 | -- | W 30-23 (1OT) vs #22 Northwestern (Alamo) |
Note: Missouri'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.