I've become convinced that Mark May is essentially a "heel" like in professional wrestling that plays the villian role just to be the villian, rile up the OSU faithful, etc. Like, before they start their segment, Mark May gets a script and reads something like this:
"Lou Holtz will pick Ohio State to beat Michigan State today. You will say Ohio State lacks depth at linebacker and lacks the defensive speed to hang with Michigan State."
It's almost comical to me, as I think he's fairly transparent. Certainly, I think he never really like Ohio State, but over the years SC has found that him playing the villian/OSU-hater gets ratings, responsivity, etc. Before him, it was Trev Alberts. I remember them talking about how badly Miami was going to stomp Ohio State before the 2002 NC game.