| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | CFP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Oct 10 | NR | 4-2 | 0 | 0 | RV | -- | W 38-14 vs Maryland |
| 8 | Oct 23 | 24 | 5-2 | 193 | 0 | RV | -- | W 24-21 vs #2 Ohio State |
| 9 | Oct 30 | 20 | 6-2 | 390 | 0 | 23 | 12 | W 62-24 at Purdue |
| 10 | Nov 6 | 12 | 7-2 | 752 | 0 | 14 | 10 | W 41-14 vs Iowa |
| 11 | Nov 13 | 9 | 8-2 | 961 | 0 | 10 | 8 | W 45-31 at Indiana |
| 12 | Nov 20 | 8 | 9-2 | 1091 | 0 | 8 | 7 | W 39-0 at Rutgers |
| 13 | Nov 27 | 8 | 10-2 | 1118 | 0 | 8 | 7 | W 45-12 vs Michigan State |
| 14 | Dec 4 | 5 | 11-2 | 1252 | 0 | 5 | 5 | W 38-31 vs #6 Wisconsin (Big Ten CG) |
| Final | Jan 10 | 7 | 11-3 | 1130 | 0 | 7 | -- | L 52-49 vs #9 USC (Rose) |
Note: Penn State'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.