Todd Gurley was every bit the electric Heisman candidate running back he was before his four-game suspension, but his return to the gridiron was cut short by a torn ACL.

Gurley was injured on a six-yard carry late in the fourth quarter of the team's 34-7 win over Auburn, ESPN reported, but it was not confirmed to be an ACL injury until Sunday. Gurley had 138 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries in his return, but now his season is over.

Georgia announced on Sunday that an MRI had reveled the devastating injury in his left knee, but did not say when the junior tailback would undergo surgery.

"Todd has been fantastic," Bulldogs head football coach Mark Richt said in a press release. "[He is] without a doubt one of the best running backs I've ever seen, that I've ever coached. He practiced hard and he played hard. He loved the big games. He played his heart out for Georgia. I'm just really proud that I had the opportunity to coach him."

Richt's comments should not come as a surprise to anyone, as Gurley still figures to be ready to declare for the NFL at season's end. In what is in all likelihood his last season in college, Gurley ran for 911 yards and nine touchdowns on 123 carries, making for an average of 7.4 yards per carry.

Softening the blow somewhat for Georgia was Nick Chubb, who ran for 144 yards on 19 carries and who has been fantastic in Gurley's absence. Chubb took over as the team's starter when Gurley was suspended four games for accepting at least $3,000 over two years in exchange for autographed memorabilia.

The silver lining for Gurley is that Georgia increased their insurance on him to $10 million, half for injury and half for loss of value, unnamed sources told ESPN. Gurley would only collect the full amount if he goes undrafted and can never play football again. The sources said he would start collecting if he fell out of the first round.