Despite winning the McClelland Trophy and the 2011 pre-season cup, Collingwood lost the Grand Final to premiers Geelong.
Additionally, all three games Collingwood lost during the 2011 season were against Geelong.
The club played Carlton, Essendon, Geelong, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide and St Kilda twice and all other teams once throughout the home and away season.
The Magpies travelled only four times during the season; one each to Western Australia (to play Fremantle), South Australia (to play Port Adelaide again), New South Wales (to play Sydney) and Queensland (to play Gold Coast).
Their matches against inter-state teams West Coast, Adelaide and the Brisbane Lions were played at the MCG.