| Week | Date | Rank | Rec | Points | FPV | CP | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | N/A | 7 | 0-0 | 716 | 1 | DNP | |
| 1 | Sep 7 | 9 | 0-0 | 742 | 0 | DNP | |
| 2 | Sep 14 | 5 | 1-0 | 996 | 1 | ||
| 3 | Sep 21 | 3 | 1-0 | 1092 | 2 | ||
| 4 | Sep 28 | 2 | 2-0 | 1208 | 5.5 | ||
| 5 | Oct 5 | 2 | 3-0 | 1205 | 6 | ||
| 6 | Oct 12 | 2 | 4-0 | 1262 | 24 | ||
| 7 | Oct 19 | 1 | 5-0 | 1283.5 | 36.5 | W 41-16 at Syracuse | |
| 8 | Oct 26 | 1 | 6-0 | 1259 | 45 | W 30-7 vs West Virginia | |
| 9 | Nov 2 | 6 | 6-1 | 869 | 0 | L 17-14 at Miami (FL) | |
| 10 | Nov 9 | 5 | 7-1 | 1043 | 0 | ||
| 11 | Nov 16 | 13 | 7-2 | 509 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Nov 23 | 11 | 8-2 | 645 | 0 | ||
| 13 | Nov 30 | 7 | 9-2 | 918 | 1 | ||
| Final | Jan 3 | 3 | 10-2 | 845 | 1 |
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.