The Tulane Green Wave are now officially bowl eligible.

The Green Wave struggled immensely with a scrappy Army Black Knights squad, but the team ultimately prevailed over the Black Knights with a 24-17 victory in Week 8. The boys from Uptown are now 6-1 on the year and undefeated in American Conference play.

Let's cut to the chase: this was another below average showing from Tulane that could've just as easily ended in a loss. The two teams kept trading blows back and forth, with neither able to pull ahead. It took a crazy 26-yard touchdown snag by wide receiver Shazz Preston with 27 seconds remaining for the home team to secure the win.

Crazy might not even be the best word to describe Preston's catch -- the ball bounced off a defender, was hauled in and bobbled in the air by the receiver and eventually grabbed for the score. It was improbable, athletic and utterly ridiculous. 

Jake Retzlaff once again fared well in the pocket, completing 22-of-29 passes for 261 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Additionally, he rushed for a team-high 62 yards on eight carries. Retzlaff had his own mistakes, but he kept a calm, veteran presence in a game that was tense from the very beginning. With Preston, Anthony Brown-Stephens and Bryce Bohanon holding things together downfield, the Green Wave had a much-needed dominant day through the air.

It's been interesting to see the struggles of Tulane's run game over the past two weekends. Obviously, there will be less opportunities on the ground with an increase in passing attempts, but it's almost seemed like the adjusted offense has thrown the rushing attack a bit off rhythm. Aside from Retzlaff, three rushers combined for just 79 total yards on the day. 

Now... let's address that defense. Everyone knew heading into the matchup that Army has one of the best rushing attacks in the entire country, but despite preparing for it all week, the Green Wave rarely had an answer for the Black Knights on the ground.

Army recorded 233 total rushing yards on the day, and 155 of those came from quarterback Cade Hellums, who added two touchdowns on 39 total carries. It was his bread and butter throughout the day, with seven key passing completions thrown in there as well. 

Additionally, the Black Knights faced little resistance from Tulane 's defense in crunch time. Army was able to convert all four of its fourth-down attempts to keep critical drives alive, and the team ran 73 total plays to the Green Wave's 58. The opposing team must have felt quite comfortable in Yulman Stadium, as it spent double the amount of time on the field as the home team. 

Now, Tulane made a three-and-out stop when they needed to in order to take the lead, and the Green Wave were without starting linebacker Sam Howard, a key leader and playmaker, after losing his starting counterpart, Dickson Agu, against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

A win is a win, and Tulane is still pushing to earn that Group of Five spot in the College Football Playoff. The competition will only get harder in the coming weeks; up next, the Green Wave will travel to take on the UTSA Roadrunners.