Interim coaches at Purdue never have it easy, do they? When Danny Hope was fired, Patrick Higgins (who was also a wide receivers coach) was named interim coach for Purdue's bowl game. There, they faced an upset Oklahoma State team that was pushed down to the Heart of Dallas Bowl (while lower Big XII teams were picked for better bowls), and Purdue got pushed up to this bowl as Ohio State and Penn State were suspended at the time.
Now, Gerad Parker faces a not so angry top-10 Nebraska team (I hear they're all nice out there), but one that's looking for revenge after getting embarrassed last year in West Lafayette.