| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | CFP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Aug 19 | 15 | 0-0 | 651 | 0 | 14 | -- | DNP |
| 1 | Sep 3 | 15 | 1-0 | 688 | 0 | 14 | -- | W 79-7 vs Idaho |
| 2 | Sep 8 | 13 | 2-0 | 781 | 0 | 11 | -- | W 45-13 vs Buffalo |
| 3 | Sep 15 | 13 | 3-0 | 726 | 0 | 12 | -- | W 17-10 vs Pittsburgh |
| 4 | Sep 22 | 12 | 3-0 | 848 | 0 | 11 | -- | DNP |
| 5 | Sep 29 | 12 | 4-0 | 878 | 0 | 11 | -- | W 59-0 at Maryland |
| 6 | Oct 6 | 10 | 5-0 | 958 | 0 | 9 | -- | W 35-7 vs Purdue |
| 7 | Oct 13 | 7 | 6-0 | 1129 | 0 | 7 | -- | W 17-12 at #17 Iowa |
| 8 | Oct 20 | 6 | 7-0 | 1224 | 0 | 6 | -- | W 28-21 vs #16 Michigan |
| 9 | Oct 27 | 5 | 8-0 | 1302 | 0 | 5 | -- | W 28-7 at Michigan State |
| 10 | Nov 3 | 5 | 8-0 | 1306 | 0 | 5 | 4 | DNP |
| 11 | Nov 10 | 9 | 8-1 | 1003 | 0 | 11 | 9 | L 31-26 at #13 Minnesota |
| 12 | Nov 17 | 9 | 9-1 | 1030 | 0 | 9 | 8 | W 34-27 vs #24 Indiana |
| 13 | Nov 24 | 12 | 9-2 | 903 | 0 | 12 | 10 | L 28-17 at #2 Ohio State |
| 14 | Dec 1 | 12 | 10-2 | 890 | 0 | 11 | 10 | W 27-6 vs Rutgers |
| 15 | Dec 8 | 13 | 10-2 | 888 | 0 | 12 | 10 | DNP |
| Final | Jan 14 | 9 | 11-2 | 1038 | 0 | 9 | -- | W 53-39 vs #15 Memphis (Cotton) |
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.