Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

The reality is that seven or eight games will probably determine the East champion, but here are the top three and what may or may not be at stake:

1. Florida vs. Georgia, Nov. 1, Jacksonville, Fla.
The best coaches know what buttons to press and when to press them with their teams. Georgia's Mark Richt, in a move completely out of character for him, ordered his Bulldogs to draw an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for celebrating after their first touchdown against Florida last season. He admitted afterward that he didn't expect to see his whole team dancing in the Gators' end zone, but it's a move that propelled Georgia to a 42-30 win and a fast and furious close to the 2007 season. Now, we see how Florida responds. Think the tape of that Georgia celebration has been played a few times in the Gators' film room this offseason? The biggest subplot, though, will be the East title. The winner of this game punches its ticket to Atlanta.

2. Florida at Tennessee, Sept. 20
Last season was the first time since 1997 that the loser of this game has made it to the SEC championship game, so it's still one of the games as far as determining the East representative in Atlanta. Hey, and at some point, Phillip Fulmer needs to prove he can beat Urban Meyer, too. Meyer is 3-0 against the Vols, including last season's 59-20 carnage in Gainesville that saw the Gators up five touchdowns and still throwing the ball down the field in the fourth quarter. We'll find out pretty quickly in this one what kind of pride the Tennessee program has.

3. Georgia at South Carolina, Sept. 13
The Bulldogs have never played particularly well in Columbia, and the Gamecocks went into Athens last season and won. The last thing Georgia needs, after all the hype this offseason, is to lose its SEC opener. If that happens, a killer schedule suddenly becomes an impossible schedule. As for the Gamecocks, here's a chance in the first few weeks of the season to show that they're for real. Win this game, and who knows? There's a chance South Carolina could be 6-1 or even 7-0 going into three straight home games against LSU (Oct. 18), Tennessee (Nov. 1) and Arkansas (Nov. 8).