NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Makhi Hughes rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown, Shedro Louis returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score and No. 20 Tulane defeated Tulsa 24-22 on Saturday to win its eighth straight game.

Michael Pratt passed for 194 yards and a touchdown to help the Green Wave (9-1, 6-0 American Athletic Conference, No. 23 CFP) remain on track to defend their league title and possibly receive a bid to a second straight major New Year’s Day bowl game.

Louis’ return came on the kickoff to open the second half and gave the Wave a 21-10 lead. It was his first touchdown since transfering from Liberty and came when Tulane needed some breathing room over a Tulsa team that delivered a fiesty performance as it tried to snap a losing streak that has now reached five games.

To put away the game, Tulane needed Pratt to hit Chris Brazzell over the middle for 10 yards on third-and-9, followed by Hughes’ 31-yard run on which he slid down in the open field. Those plays set the Wave up to run out the clock on a third straight game decided by 3 or fewer points.

Hughes, a redshirt freshman, eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark and now has rushed for 100 yards ins six straight games.

Kirk Francis passed for a career-high 345 yards and a touchdown for Tulsa (3-7, 1-5), which outgained Tulane 477 yards to 357. Kamdyn Benjamin had eight catches for 157 yards and two scores. Benjamin’s second TD came on a pass from Braylon Braxton, who started the game and subsequently subbed in situationally. The play gave the Golden Hurricane a chance to tie it with 3:03 left, but Braxton’s pass on a 2-point conversion attempt fell incomplete in the back of the end zone.

Tulane scored touchdowns on two of its first three drives, taking a 14-0 lead on Hughes’ 1-yard, fourth down run and tight end Alex Bauman’s 39-yard reception.

Then Tulsa subbed Francis in for Braxton — coach Kevin Wilson had foreshadowed using both — and the Golden Hurricane responded with 10 straight points.

Francis hit Benjamin with an 8-yard pass to make it 14-7 and Chase Meyer’s 37-yard field goal cut it to 14-10, a score that stood until halftime.

After Braxton struggled early, Francis, a walk-on, made his case for more playing time by leading the Golden Hurricane to 10 unanswered points. His third-quarter pass to Benjamin for 51 yards — which led to Meyer’s second field goal — was the first play of more than 40 yards against Tulane’s defense this season. His yards passing total was the second-highest in school history for a freshman. Meanwhile, Meyer’s third field goal from 47 yards was a career long.

 The Green Wave entered the game without top deep threat Jha’Quan Jackson and then another top receiver, Lawrence Keys, had a lower leg injury in the first quarter. That didn’t help as their offense stagnated for significant stretches. But this team has repeatedly come through at the end of tight games.