| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | CFP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 17 | 7 | 0-0 | 1106 | 0 | 7 | -- | DNP |
| 1 | Sep 2 | 11 | 1-0 | 944 | 0 | 11 | -- | W 28-20 at Virginia |
| 2 | Sep 7 | 12 | 2-0 | 779 | 0 | 12 | -- | W 42-35 vs Memphis |
| 3 | Sep 14 | 12 | 3-0 | 807 | 0 | 10 | -- | W 20-17 vs Texas |
| 4 | Sep 21 | 11 | 3-0 | 806 | 0 | 10 | -- | DNP |
| 5 | Sep 28 | 8 | 4-0 | 975 | 0 | 9 | -- | W 62-27 at #15 Arizona State |
| 6 | Oct 5 | 18 | 4-1 | 460 | 0 | 17 | -- | L 30-28 vs Utah |
| 7 | Oct 12 | RV | 4-2 | 110 | 0 | RV | -- | L 42-30 vs #12 Oregon |
| 8 | Oct 19 | 25 | 5-2 | 118 | 0 | RV | -- | W 36-34 at California |
| 9 | Oct 26 | 25 | 6-2 | 106 | 0 | 25 | 22 | W 40-37 (2OT) at Colorado |
| 10 | Nov 2 | 18 | 7-2 | 464 | 0 | 18 | 18 | W 17-7 vs #14 Arizona |
| 11 | Nov 9 | 14 | 8-2 | 691 | 0 | 15 | 11 | W 44-30 at Washington |
| 12 | Nov 16 | 11 | 8-2 | 876 | 0 | 12 | 9 | DNP |
| 13 | Nov 23 | 9 | 9-2 | 998 | 0 | 10 | 8 | W 38-20 vs #24 USC |
| 14 | Nov 30 | 16 | 9-3 | 512 | 0 | 17 | 15 | L 31-10 vs Stanford |
| 15 | Dec 7 | 14 | 9-3 | 663 | 0 | 15 | 14 | DNP |
| Final | Jan 13 | 10 | 10-3 | 908 | 0 | 10 | -- | W 40-35 vs #11 Kansas State (Alamo) |
Note: UCLA'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.