| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | CFP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Sep 10 | NR | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | RV | -- | W 41-17 vs Northwestern |
| 3 | Sep 17 | RV | 3-0 | 10 | 0 | RV | -- | W 34-20 vs Baylor |
| 4 | Sep 24 | RV | 4-0 | 79 | 0 | RV | -- | W 27-17 at North Carolina |
Note: Duke'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.