No one really gave the Stanford Cardinal much of a chance in a loaded Pac-12 conference this season. After shocking Oregon and pulling out the win over UCLA in the conference championship game, the Cardinal won the Pac-12 crown and earned a Rose Bowl bid.

On Thursday, CBS Sports named Stanford coach David Shaw the co-Coach of the Year. Notre Dame's Brian Kelly was the other recipient.

There were many qualified nominees for the award, and Shaw's win speaks volumes of what he was able to accomplish this past season. His team went 12-2, with their losses coming on the road to Washington and Notre Dame. In all reality, Stanford was two or three plays away from going undefeated. Shaw also made the bold call to replace quarterback Josh Nunes with freshman Kevin Hogan, who revitalized the offense with his dual-threat abilities.

Shaw and the Cardinal have one challenge remaining this season. They'll take on the Wisconsin Badgers, which recently lost their head coach, in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.