| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Sep 11 | 1 | 0-0 | 446 | 26 | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 19 | 2 | 0-0 | 401 | 22 | DNP | |
| 2 | Sep 26 | 2 | 1-0 | 414 | 0 | ||
| 3 | Oct 3 | 1 | 2-0 | 428 | 28 | W 14-7 at #5 Kansas | |
| 4 | Oct 10 | 4 | 3-0 | 362 | 4 | W 15-6 at Holy Cross (MA) | |
| 5 | Oct 17 | 3 | 4-0 | 339 | 2 | ||
| 6 | Oct 24 | 3 | 5-0 | 355 | 5 | ||
| 7 | Oct 31 | 9 | 5-1 | 91 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Nov 7 | 17 | 5-2 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Nov 14 | 14 | 6-2 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Nov 21 | 17 | 7-2 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Final | Nov 28 | 19 | 7-2 | 4 | 0 |
Note: Syracuse'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.