TOWSON, Md. - You have to say this for Grant Enders: Not only has he learned to manage the Tiger football team’s offense, he’s become a quick study on how to manage expectations.

With the Tigers unbeaten after three games for the first time in five years and a national ranking in tow, it must be great to be a Towson football player right now and it must be even better to be the starting quarterback.

All that’s true, says Enders, but it’s also important to place everything in its proper context.

“For teams dealing with success and attention, it’s very important that they don’t get complacent or a feeling of accomplishment,” said Enders in an e-mail interview. “It’s a great feeling to be 3-0 at this point, but we know our job is far from done. I like to ignore records completely. I find it better to go into games like both teams are 0-0.”

Good luck with that. The Tigers entered the Football Championship Subdivision Top 25 poll for the first time in four years and are ranked 23rd. Their defense is ranked 12th overall in total defense and the 30 points they’ve surrendered is the lowest in all of FCS.

Meanwhile, the offense is operating at a solid level, outrushing opponents by nearly 100 yards per game as four of their top rushers are averaging over 4.6 yards per carry.

“I found that we have become extremely tight in such a short period of time,” said Enders. “In other teams I’ve been a part of, it took a little longer to develop such a close knit family. We all share the same goals and we all work hard, day in and day out, to reach them.”

Enders, a sophomore who in his first year as the starter, has evolved into a double threat. He is completing 73 percent of his attempts with five touchdown passes while running for 137 yards and two touchdowns.

Enders gives all the credit for his year to quarterbacks coach Jared Ambrose, whom he says has done “a great job” of teaching defenses and coverages as well as maximizing the efforts of the signal callers.

“Each day, I am getting more comfortable with our offense and the schemes we are trying to run,” said Enders. “Taking what the defense gives you is such a simple solution, but it is the most valuable advice that I have learned.”

All of those lessons will be on display this Saturday in Towson’s biggest test to date - a road game with Maryland of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Not only will this mark the first Towson road game of the season, but it will be a meeting against the most prominent football program in the state, a school that carries 20 more scholarship players on its roster and plays in a stadium five times as large as Johnny Unitas® Stadium.

Still, if there was ever a time for the Tigers to face the Terps, it would seemingly be now.

After all, Towson comes charging into the matchup with a full head of steam after another dazzling performance on Saturday, a 42-17 Homecoming win over Colgate. Meanwhile, the Terps are reeling after two straight losses, including a 38-7 home drubbing against Temple on Saturday.

But, in yet another sign that he hasn’t let this season’s success give him an overly inflated sense of self, Enders isn’t falling into the trap of giving Maryland bulletin board material or writing checks that he and his teammates can’t cash.

“We are all excited for the game just like we are for any other opponent because it’s another opportunity to play football,” said Enders. “Just like Morgan State, it’s always a little more fun when the team is from the same state as us.”

“This will be a big challenge for us, but we are ready for it," he added. "A win at Maryland would be great for our program. I think everyone from our team, coaches, student body and alumni would love nothing more than to beat another in-state team.”

Spoken like a guy who has his expectations firmly in check.