Two human polls comprised the 1961 major college football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.
| Increase in ranking | |||
| Decrease in ranking | |||
| Not ranked previous week | |||
| National champion | |||
| Win–loss record | |||
| Number of first place votes | |||
| Tied with team above or below also with this symbol |
The final AP poll was released on December 5, at the end of the regular season, weeks before the bowls.[1] Starting in the 1961 season and until the 1967 season, the AP poll ranked only 10 teams.
The final UPI Coaches Poll was released prior to the bowl games, on December 5.[2]
Alabama received 18 of the 35 first-place votes; Ohio State received fifteen, Ole Miss one, and Colorado one.
| Ranking | Team | Conference | Bowl |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | SEC | Won Sugar, 10–3 |
| 2 | Ohio State | Big Ten | none |
| 3 | LSU | SEC | Won Orange, 25–7 |
| 4 | Texas | Southwest | Won Cotton, 12–7 |
| 5 | Ole Miss | SEC | Lost Cotton, 7–12 |
| 6 | Minnesota | Big Ten | Won Rose, 21–3 |
| 7 | Colorado | Big Eight | Lost Orange, 7–25 |
| 8 | Arkansas | Southwest | Lost Sugar, 3–10 |
| 9 | Michigan State | Big Ten | none |
| 10 | Utah State | Skyline | Lost Gotham, 9–24 |
| 11 | Purdue | Big Ten | none |
| Missouri | Big Eight | ||
| 13 | Georgia Tech | SEC | Lost Gator, 15–30 |
| 14 | Duke | ACC | none |
| 15 | Kansas | Big Eight | Won Bluebonnet, 33–7 |
| 16 | Syracuse | Independent | Won Liberty, 15–14 |
| 17 | Wyoming | Skyline | none |
| 18 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | |
| 19 | Miami (FL) | Independent | Lost Liberty, 14–15 |
| Penn State | Independent | Won Gator, 30–15 | |