Yes, it is possible:
git clone https://github.com/pitosalas/st3_packages Packages You can specify the local root directory when using git clone.
<directory> The name of a new directory to clone into.
The "humanish" part of the source repository is used if no directory is explicitly given (repofor/path/to/repo.gitandfooforhost.xz:foo/.git).
Cloning into an existing directory is only allowed if the directory is empty.
As Chris comments, you can then rename that top directory.
Git only cares about the .git within said top folder, which you can get with various commands:
git rev-parse --show-toplevel git rev-parse --git-dir