Indiana's title defense will feature back-to-back matchups with Ohio State and Michigan

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Indiana's national title defense will include back-to-back matchups with the schools that won the championship each of the previous two seasons.

The Big Ten released its 2026 league schedule on Tuesday. Indiana will host Ohio State on Oct. 17 and visit Michigan on Oct. 24.

Michigan won the national title in the 2023 season. Ohio State's 2024 team also won it all.

That Oct. 17 Indiana-Ohio State clash will be a rematch of this season’s Big Ten championship game, which the Hoosiers won 13-10. Indiana then went on to win the College Football Playoff, defeating Miami 27-21 in the final.

There’s another intriguing Big Ten matchup on Oct. 17, as Michigan State coach Pat Fitzgerald faces his former team when the Spartans host Northwestern. Fitzgerald posted a 110-101 record at Northwestern from 2006-22.

The first two conference games of the season are scheduled to take place the week of Sept. 19, when UCLA hosts Purdue and Southern California visits Rutgers. The Big Ten championship game is Dec. 5 at Indianapolis.

Some games that currently are scheduled to take place on Saturdays could end up getting shifted to Fridays or other days, including the Sunday before Labor Day or Black Friday, to accommodate television schedules.

Kickoff times will be announced later.

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Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti holds the trophy after their win against Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Indiana holds the trophy after their win against Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Starbucks reported strong fiscal first quarter as holiday drinks and a viral bear cup helped drive sales.

Same-store sales – or sales at locations open at least a year – rose 4% for the October-December period. That was higher than the 2.3% that Wall Street was expecting, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

There was a 3% increase in transactions and a 1% increase in spending per visit. That was the best U.S. performance for the company in two years.

Shares of the Seattle coffee giant jumped more than 9% before the opening bell Wednesday.

Revenue rose 6% to $9.9 billion for the quarter, also beating Wall Street expectations for $9.65 billion.

Starbucks had been hoping that a strong holiday would reintroduce many customers to its stores, where it is trying to improve service by adding staff and equipment and creating a warmer, more welcoming environment. But even Starbucks was startled by customer demand for its $29.95 glass bear-shaped cups, which sold out almost immediately after they were introduced in November.

The store revamps have been costly for the company, which said its margins have been pressured by investments in labor as well as tariffs on coffee.

Adjusted for one-time items, Starbucks earned 56 cents per share in the quarter. That was lower than the 59-cent profit Wall Street was expecting.

Starbucks U.S. traffic was up despite a strike by more than 1,000 unionized Starbucks workers, who hoped to disrupt Starbucks’ Red Cup Day, which is typically one of the company’s busiest days of the year. Since 2018, Starbucks has given out free, reusable cups on that day to customers who buy a holiday drink. The strike closed some stores, but only briefly.

FILE - The "Siren" logo hangs outside a Starbucks Coffee shop, Wednesday, July 14, 2021, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)